


Bad Romance

by polariiis



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Arranged Marriage, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Goong AU, Levi and Mikasa are siblings, Modern Royalty, or more aptly Enemies to Spouses, royal au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:33:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 21,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27949868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/polariiis/pseuds/polariiis
Summary: Mikasa, the Crown Princess of Paradis, must get married before she turns nineteen in order to be eligible to succeed the throne.At the rate things are going for her, however, she knows that she's in a bind. Or as her classmates would like to say— positively fucked.
Relationships: Mikasa Ackerman/Eren Yeager
Comments: 72
Kudos: 250





	1. An Inconvenient Arrangement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Full credit to Lady Gaga for the title. With some swearing and one mention of d-word.

Mikasa slowly walked down the wide, empty hallway of the palace as she made her way to the Royal Chambers on a Sunday morning. The refreshing sunlight pierced through the broad glass windows, and all she could hear was the clicking of her heels against the marble floor and the muted chatters of the staff. In an ordinary day, she would have loved the peace and quiet. But not today.

Today, she wants the noise, the distraction to keep her from her thoughts and worries. She wants to drown out her inner voice sensing trouble, screaming at her to run to the opposite side of the palace and hide. But Mikasa’s no coward, so she continues to walk, albeit at a significantly lagging pace. She thinks she’s walking into her impending doom, like cattle about to be slaughtered.

Of course she’s exaggerating. She simply received a note last night that her parents wanted to talk to her, and given how impersonal the message was, she figured that they wanted to speak to her in their capacity as rulers of Paradis. Some parents, huh?

At first, she never found this whole princess business bothering. What’s wrong with being born into a job and her parents sometimes acting like her bosses? But as soon as she discovered how normal family dynamics work, it occurred to her how restricted and confined her life is inside the palace walls, her destiny already plotted in laws and traditions, leaving no room for her to blaze her own path. To everyone, she will always be Mikasa, the Crown Princess.

At times, she longed for a different circumstance where she would grow up in a normal household with just her parents and her older brother living peacefully in the woods, experiencing the most normal childhood her young mind can imagine.

But she has gotten past that, too. Now, her pride as the next Queen of Paradis is on the line. In fact, she is now at the marrying age, having turned eighteen six months ago— and since then her parents have been breathing down on her neck and watching her every movement like hawks.

Because she still has no one to marry. And the Governing Ministers and Royal Advisors are now panicking.

It is explicit in the canon laws that the Crown Princess must marry before she turns nineteen in order to be eligible to succeed the throne— otherwise, she might trigger a constitutional crisis, which, if she was really honest with herself, is something that she’d rather face, than marry some random boy she barely knows.

But of course she can’t go down in history as the Ackerman Crown Princess who can’t find someone to marry, because that is utterly ridiculous. And nothing short of humiliating.

It’s not that Mikasa is undesirable. In fact, it’s completely the opposite— even stripped of her royal privileges, she is still one of the most beautiful women in the country. Her face is a perfect blend of her mother’s Oriental heritage and the sharp but refined features of Ackermans, her naturally silky, ebony hair falling past her shoulders is a point of envy for women in Paradis, and she is quite tall and extremely fit for her age— basically, she’s a deity walking amongst commoners. Nobles from across lands and neighboring countries have expressed their interest to send their sons to court her, and her parents even gave her the freedom to choose any boy she likes, or else—

Anyway, she tried to choose. By gods, she really did. Her governess-turned-trusted assistant, Petra, even provided her a book with a compilation of all of her suitors, with their respective photographs and personality profiles. But as soon as she met them in person, she found that each one was either dumb or weak. No one is smart enough to hold an interesting conversation with her. They can’t even keep up with her when she invites them to spar, and she can’t have any one who cannot put up a fight with her— that’s the barest of all her bare minimum standards. She knows can’t spend the rest of her life with someone boring as hell. Simply unacceptable.

She has been harboring these thoughts racing on her mind that she was surprised to find herself now facing the door to the Royal Chamber. She took a deep breath, and sent a silent prayer to Sina, Rose and Maria that this meeting is _not_ about her marriage, before twisting the door handle and entering the room.

In the sitting room, she finds her mother, Queen Kuniko, seated on the couch and gently fixing her older brother Levi’s sleeve, who was seated beside her. Her father, King Liudolf Ackerman, is in his favorite armchair, hidden behind today’s newspaper. Everyone is dressed rather casually, and Mikasa has the most insane feeling that this is an act they pulled off most likely to make her comfortable— at least they had the courtesy to acknowledge that this isn’t a conversation she is excited to have.

She bows to them and approaches her parents to kiss them on the cheek. Levi glances at her warily as she sits in the armchair across her father.

“So, you called for me,” she begins.

Her father clears his throat, folding the newspaper and leans back on his chair. He stares at her for a while, surveying her general demeanor, then glances at his wife and son before looking at her again. “Dear, I don’t want to beat around the bush because that isn’t the way of the Ackermans. We need to discuss your marriage choices. Or the seeming lack thereof.”

She may have prayed too late.

She shuts her eyes for a moment and breathes heavily, ignoring the worried stares of her family.

“I’m sorry. But I promise you I will find someone soon.”

“Dear, you’ve promised that three months ago. You’re almost nineteen. We cannot leave this matter in your own hands anymore. Even if we find someone tomorrow, the wedding preparations will be tightly scheduled already.”

“Petra informed me you still haven’t chosen anybody from that ridiculous book of yours,” Levi said.

Her throat went dry, unable to muster counterarguments to her family members. _Dammit, Petra._ She felt like a cornered animal, wounded by her family’s attacks, and she knows her father is ready to pounce again any moment now, in three… two… one.

“We have arranged for us to meet the family of the boy you are betrothed. They will be coming here tomorrow. The boy has agreed, too.”

Mikasa went rigid in her chair as the words tumbled out of her father’s lips. Sure, she has anticipated that her father will do whatever it takes to find her a groom— which she would have found funny under normal circumstances because aren’t fathers supposed to be hesitant to give their daughters away?— but this is too soon. She fiddled with the fabric of her dress, like she usually does when she gets nervous. But anger is spreading on in her chest, too, feeling betrayed that she was not informed of this decision ahead of time. Isn’t she the one getting married here?

“Mikasa, honey. I know eighteen is too young to get married these modern times. But the Constitution’s words have not changed in a hundred years and the crown will not pass to you if you don’t get married soon. Ah, have you forgotten the wishes of your grandfather before he passed away?” her mother gently coaxes her out of her silence.

She wanted to scream out to her parents that, of course, she perfectly remembers. She loved her grandfather dearly, but when she received his letter addressed to her after his death, she swears she lost some love for the old man.

“… _I have promised your hand in marriage to the descendant of the family of doctors who saved us from the epidemic thirty years ago. We owe that family so much. They now have a grandson your age, too. But fret not, my dear. This will only be so if you don’t find someone to marry before you turn nineteen, and if the boy agrees… I pray, my sweet child, that you grant the last wish of your grandpa._ ”

At this point, Mikasa recognizes that she’s in a bind here. Or as her classmates would like to say— _positively fucked_. The situation is crystal clear: she needs to get married, but she can’t find anybody she wants, so the arranged marriage takes effect. Looks like her grandfather has somehow foreseen that he needs to save her from humiliation and has conveniently arranged a marriage as contingency plan.

She wanted to laugh out loud, if only the situation wasn’t getting ridiculous by the minute.

“The family is an honorable one, if you are worried about it. Your grandfather would not just want anybody marrying you. That family’s patriarch saved him and your grandma,” the Queen spoke again.

“He’s a commoner, too, so this will be really good for our image to the public. We want to show that we’re one with them,” the King adds.

“You haven’t spoken, Mikasa,” Levi points out.

Mikasa realized that for a while now, she has been staring at the flowers in the vase at the table in front of her. Clearly her mother’s handiwork. She finally lifts her head to face the expectant faces of her family.

“Did you just say tomorrow?”

“Yes, dear.”

“You haven’t told me.”

“This was a contingency plan.”

“I haven’t even agreed.”

“You still haven’t found someone.”

Mikasa could not help but glare at her father, who at this very moment is also giving her the cold look of a formidable king. She can hold staring contests with Levi, but her father is an entirely different opponent. Deep in her heart, though, she knows that her father had to prepare himself to stand his ground against his only daughter.

And in this palace, her father’s word is the law.

The Queen could only look at them helplessly, distress evident on her pale features. Even Levi is silent, knowing he is not in the position to interfere.

Nonetheless, the King looked away and waved his hand to a folder in the table. “Here’s a file of the boy we’re going to meet tomorrow. Please make an effort to at least get to know his family.”

She made no move to respond to her father’s statement. If she cannot change any of _these_ , then at least she deserves to be stubborn right now and throw a fit the Mikasa Ackerman way.

“I feel tired, Your Majesty. I will retreat to my chambers for the rest of the day.”

Mikasa stood up, bowed to her parents who seem like strangers to her right now, and left the room.

* * *

“You weren’t in your chambers so I figured you’d be here.”

Mikasa turned her head to find her brother approaching her in the garden bench. She has been sitting here for hours now, trying to calm herself and think clearly after this morning’s events.

She has declared this hidden garden at the back of the palace as her own space, a sanctuary of sorts whenever the royal life becomes too much for her. The surrounding flowers meticulously tended by the gardeners keeps her relaxed, and soon enough, the staff have made it cozier for the Crown Princess who sits there often.

Levi sits beside her and ruffles her hair.

“I’m sorry, Mikasa.”

Well, what a surprise. This was the last thing she imagined Levi would say to her after her improper behavior earlier. She hummed, trying to hide her surprise. “What for?”

Levi stayed silent for a moment, contemplating if he should continue to speak, but did so anyway. “If I hadn’t abdicated the throne, you wouldn’t be in this position, having to marry someone you haven’t even met.”

Mikasa stares at her older brother, and she could faintly see hints of shame in his eternal poker face. He probably thinks she blames him, which is something Mikasa have never thought of even once. In fact, she is forever thankful that she gets to stay in their home, with her brother always there guiding her, even if it meant that she had to shoulder the burden of the crown.

“It’s okay, Levi. I know you’re more a leader of an army, rather than a leader of a country, and I guess Mom and Dad knew that too. That’s why you’re now the Commander of the Royal Guard, right?

“Besides, you would forever regret it if you abdicated the throne too late. And you _never_ regret your choices.”

“Since when did you become so wise, brat?” he snorted in amusement, a small smile forming in his lips. “Listen, Mom and Dad are worried about you. They feel bad about this, but they don’t want to compromise the institution, especially now when public opinion is volatile. Plus, it will plunge the country into an economic and political crisis, if other nations find out that succession is in disarray.”

“I understand. I know I acted childish earlier, I’m sorry,” she replies solemnly. “It’s kind of my fault too, you know, for failing to find someone.”

“Tch. It’s not your fault if you have high standards.”

Mikasa stares at her older brother. Levi has always been on her side, and she knows she will be needing him more from now on.

“Will you be there when we meet the family tomorrow?”

“Of course. I need to see if I need to beat the shit out of that brat,” Levi says, pulling Mikasa into an embrace, which he rarely did nowadays as his little sister has grown into a strong, fine woman that he is proud of.

“Come on, let’s have our meal, and then rest. You have school tomorrow.”

* * *

One of the attempts of the royal family to appear more accessible to the public is to have the royal children attend high school. It’s one of the things Mikasa looks forward to everyday, as she gets to be a normal teenager around the friends she gained over the years.

Of course, it was expected at first for her classmates and even teachers to walk on eggshells with her, especially when she is lacking in social skills herself, tending to stay on her own during free periods just to avoid cautious looks from everyone.

But things eventually started to get better when her classmate, Sasha, sat beside her during lunch, and asked her if she could try Mikasa’s dessert. She then invited her to sit with their other classmates, and shamelessly asked how palace meat tastes like.

Soon enough, she was packing lunch for two so as to let her friends try the food she brings to school everyday. Her classmates are now much relaxed around her, Connie and Jean even teaching her some cuss words and popular expressions such as “Holy fuck!” and “That’s so basic.” Now in her senior year, she has become friends with almost all of her classmates.

“Mikasa!” Sasha yelled, waving as she approached Mikasa in the school gate, Connie trying to keep up beside her.

The brunette grabbed her into a tight hug. She’s the only one who manages to get away with it since Mikasa’s bodyguards are already used to Sasha’s boisterous temperament, even if it’s a big etiquette violation to touch royal family members without their consent. Mikasa has found a true friend in Sasha, who never made her feel like she’s any different. And for that, she is indebted to her.

“Hey. Good morning, Sasha, Connie.”

The three of them walked side by side on their way to their classroom.

“I missed you a lot. Where were you last week? Royal duties?” She peered at her while taking a bite out of her sandwich. “You look horrible.”

“I wasn’t able to have a restful evening.”

Connie snickered. “You sound like an old lady in need of a cane with your choice of words, Mikasa.”

“Shut up, Connie, can’t you see she’s tired?”

Her companions bickered all the way, Mikasa not bothering to shush them as she feels lethargic from her lack of sleep, simply dreading for this day to come. They soon entered their chatter-filled classroom, and Mikasa made her way to her desk beside the window. Armin was already seated on the desk beside hers and waving to them.

“Good morning, Mikasa!”

Armin’s grin was so blinding that she nearly squinted, but she forced out a small smile for him. “Good morning, Armin.”

Their Physics teacher, Dr. Zoe, soon arrived and started her lecture. They droned on and on about formulas and theories and Mikasa can’t seem to focus, the words jumbled in her brain, and her eyes are getting heavier by the minute and she’s nearly dozing off…

When without warning, the classroom door opened forcefully, and everyone flinched in surprise. Sasha’s scream filled the room, Armin let out a tiny squeak, and Mikasa jolted awake and sat straight, appalled at herself that she almost slept in class. A brown-haired boy with emerald eyes entered the classroom gasping for breath, bullets of sweat trickling down his face.

“I’m really sorry, Dr. Zoe! I got late because I missed the bus and—“

Huh. Eren Jaeger, the bane of Mikasa’s existence, is surprisingly late for class. Eren Jaeger has never been late for school, because he takes his studies seriously.

But today, he looks like he ran miles just to get to school on time. He appears to have had a sleepless night too, the dark circles in his eyes making his face look ten times haggard.

Not that Mikasa cares, because Eren Jaeger neither cares for her too. In fact, he always made it a point to let Mikasa know that he hates her. He once confronted her during freshman year by saying how the royal family are a bunch of hypocrites, and Mikasa attending regular school is simply the height of hypocrisy, when several teenagers underground can’t even go to school. Mikasa, surprised at Eren Jaeger’s unexpected verbal attack, punched him in the face, to the shock and astonishment of their classmates (Annie even winked at her after that). No one dared to report her to Principal Smith, not because she is the Crown Princess, but because they think Eren Jaeger went too far.

Since that incident, they never looked at each other once, and Eren Jaeger pretends that she doesn’t exist (but he glares at her whenever he gets the chance). For the past four years that they have been classmates, he only addressed her as “that girl” and he never talked to her despite Mikasa becoming one of Armin’s best friends. Really, Eren Jaeger only joins lunch with them because Armin doesn’t want him to eat alone.

On one thought, it baffled Mikasa to no end how Armin and Eren Jaeger ended up being the best of friends. Armin is smart, polite, and kind, while Eren Jaeger is the complete opposite— brash, violent, and always gets into fights with Jean. Just one prime example of how opposites attract, Mikasa thinks. Oh, look, she actually picks something from Dr. Zoe’s Physics lectures every morning.

“It’s okay, Mr. Jaeger. Just don’t give us a heart attack next time. Come in, please take a seat.”

“Thank you!”

Dr. Zoe resumed their lecture, and Eren Jaeger began to walk to his desk behind Armin (a desk way too close to her, much to Mikasa’s distaste)— but not before briefly looking at her with wide eyes. Mikasa was startled at his expression, because Eren Jaeger only scowls at her. But today, Eren Jaeger looked confused, and he blushed profusely as he looked away.

Huh. Eren Jaeger, the bane of her existence, is weird today.

* * *

As soon as school ended, Mikasa went home to prepare for the visit. The palace was busy getting ready for dinner with (possibly) the future Crown Prince and his family. Rico, the Private Secretary of the Royal Family, went crazy with the preparations, and she’s been running back and forth making sure that everything is going smoothly in the drawing room, in the kitchen, and in the dining hall. Mikasa realized that the last person who got engaged in the palace was her father, nearly thirty years ago.

In her chambers, Petra fixed Mikasa’s hair in a low chignon hairstyle, and has put on a small silver tiara. She wore an off-shoulder knee-length burgundy dress which accentuates her body shape. She may be against this whole business of arranged marriage, but Mikasa wants to make a good impression on (possibly) her future in-laws that she will be meeting for the first time.

“I sense that you’re nervous,” Petra says softly as she fixes Mikasa’s necklace.

“Of course I am. I haven’t seen this boy, and I don’t even know his name.” Mikasa can feel her hands getting clammy with each passing minute. She should have looked at the boy’s file. “What if I don’t like him?”

“Honey, I’ve seen his photograph, and he looks handsome.”

“Really? What does he look like?”

“You’ll see. Now, come on. It’s time.”

* * *

While waiting for their visitors in the drawing room, Mikasa sat on the couch between her parents. They both smiled at her, the King lightly squeezing her hand.

“Thank you for doing this, Mikasa. Even if yesterday was a bit of a disaster.”

Mikasa was about to say something when the butler announced the arrival of Grisha and Carla Jaeger.

Jaeger? Did she just hear that correctly? Or was it Kruger?

Rico entered the room with a tall, slender man with dark brown hair and green eyes beneath the spectacles, holding the hand of a beautiful woman with long black hair and big, amber-colored eyes.

They kissed the King’s hand, bowed to the Queen and the Crown Princess, and sat on the couch in front of the royal family.

“Commander Levi just had a quick word with the boy,” Rico addressed the King, to which he nodded in acknowledgment.

“Grisha and Carla, right? Thank you for making time for this meeting, we know this has been quite without ample notice,” King Liudolf addressed their visitors.

The man, Grisha, responded with a smile. “It’s no problem at all, Your Majesty. We are very honored to meet the Royal Family. My father spoke highly of you and the former King.”

“We are also very excited to meet Princess Mikasa, since our son already had the pleasure of meeting her,” the woman, Carla, added.

“Ah, yes, it is such a beautiful coincidence that they are of the same age and have already formed a bond at school,” Queen Kuniko said, to which the two women laughed.

Mikasa started to get suspicious of the exchange, her brows furrowing in confusion as she tries to understand the flow of conversation.

She has met this boy? At school? That’s impossible. No one approached her to speak to her about this.

Hold on.

Was it really Jaeger she heard earlier? Because she only knows one boy with such name, and she doesn’t even want to think of him and his scowling face, which, Mikasa realizes, looks suspiciously alike to their visitor, Carla.

That boy… becoming her…?

No. No way. That’s plainly unthinkable. That boy would never, _ever_ want to have anything to do with her or the Royal Family. Maybe he has an older brother?

And besides, Jaeger is a common name, so maybe it’s not him or anybody related to him, right?

Right?

Oh, dear god.

Oh, dear Sina, Rose, Maria, please don’t let it be him, please don’t let it be him, pleasepleasepleaseplea—

The butler once again announced the arrival of a visitor, cutting off the conversation in the room, and Mikasa snaps her head to the direction of the door, waiting in bated breath for whoever is about the enter the room, her fists clenching and unclenching in anxiety…

Levi entered first, and trailing behind him was a tall boy in a gray suit, looking flustered as he struggles to maintain an air of confidence in his stride. Every one stood up except Mikasa, who remained seated in shock, as his bright emerald eyes land on her gray ones.

This… this boy who made her life a bit more miserable at school, who never even smiled at her once, who could never even address her in her name.

Today’s events at school flashes in Mikasa’s mind, the boy being late at school, the boy looking sleepless, the boy staring at her with wide eyes and a light blush staining his cheeks.

Eren Jaeger, the bane of her existence, is her future husband.

Mikasa wants to die.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The other night, I once again remembered this drama that I watched years ago when it aired in our cable, and I just randomly imagined, "hmm i think EM would fit in this AU" and the idea just grew on me that I couldn't get on with my life yesterday if I don't write it. So my busy ass made time to spit 4k words for this story, amidst work, school, and a growing list of EM fics to read lmao. If you know the drama this is based on, please let me know in the comments! (hint: it's a korean drama that has been adapted in a lot of countries, though i'm not sure if everyone's familiar with it)
> 
> I'm still not sure if I'm gonna add chapters, depends on feedback I suppose, so this remains a one-shot for now. I hope you enjoyed it, and thank you for reading! :3
> 
> also shoutout to cami @fevversinherhair because we talked about the prompt "arranged marriages" before so here it is lmao. check out her really awesome and well-written fic "Came out Swinging"!


	2. That Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren is having a rough morning, and it's not even eight o'clock yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please see my notes at the end!

Eren has been vacantly staring at his ceiling since four in the morning. He hasn’t slept much, tossing and turning in his bed, pillows now scattered all over his bedroom floor. Despite the overwhelming physical and mental exhaustion, his mind has been in an overdrive, making him restless more than ever, and he just wants to cry because he needs his goddamn sleep.

But no— his brain kept recalling the unpleasant events from the past few days like a film reel on endless loop, and Eren just can’t stop it.

It goes without saying that a lot has happened to him recently—in fact, much more than all the significant events in his whole life combined— that Eren knows he hasn’t entirely sorted out everything yet. Admittedly, he’s been praying for a break from the humdrum of his life, a getaway of sorts, like flying to another country, or visiting the beach, or… just sneaking again into the school grounds with his friends for a midnight ghost hunting.

But goddamnit, he did not ask for any of _this_. Well, he did, but that’s beside the point.

And it all began last Saturday morning, when a shiny black sedan with small flags bearing the Royal Family’s emblem parked outside their humble one-story home. A short, silver-haired woman in a suit stepped out of the car and introduced herself as Rico Brzenska, the Private Secretary of the Royal Family.

“King Liudolf Ackerman wishes the presence of Siegfried Jaeger’s son and his family in the Palace on Monday evening,” Rico spoke as she sat in the Jaegers’ small couch between her two burly male companions in black suits.

Grisha and Carla, who were sitting across their visitors, looked at each other with bewildered faces. Eren stood leaning against a wall in the living room, curious enough to stay and find out the Palace’s business with his family. It is unheard of Palace officials making home visits to commoners, let alone inviting them to their ivory tower to dine.

“May we know what this is for?”asked Grisha.

Rico pulled a sheet of paper from a brown folder and handed it to the couple. “I don’t know if Siegfried Jaeger mentioned it to you, but this is a copy of a Royal Decree written by the former King before he passed away.”

“Oh,” was all Grisha could say as his eyes travelled across the handwritten document. Carla was gaping the whole time, then clamped her mouth shut, blinking rapidly. Eren couldn’t see what was written, but his parents’ reactions were killing him— he wanted to snatch the suspicious paper and read it himself, afraid that someone from his family was in trouble, or owed a large sum of money. He immediately thought of Zeke and his unusual ways.

“I-I thought my father was not serious,” Grisha stammered.

“Well, he was,” Rico curtly replied.

Carla cleared her throat when she finally gathered herself from the initial shock. “What does this mean? For our family?”

Rico looked around the house, and then set her sight on Eren, studying him with much interest. The brunette shifted a little from where he was standing, getting uncomfortable with the blatant and rude staring. This woman was starting to get on his nerves.

“I assume he’s the grandson referred to in the decree?” asked Rico, finally tearing her eyes away from him.

Eren stiffened. _Grandson?_ What’s he got to do with these pompous idiots? He knows all about his grandfather’s so-called heroic deeds for the Royal Family, but that was ages ago, long before he was born. He couldn’t figure out how he’s possibly related to any of that.

Grisha nodded. “My other son Zeke is already 29 years old and a soldier of the Royal Army.”

“Well, this arrangement is subject to his agreement. If he does not agree, then it will not take effect. But if he does agree to the marriage, he will be welcomed by the Royal Family with open arms—”

“Excuse me, the _what_ now?” Eren suddenly interrupted, the agitation rung clear in this voice, and his parents looked at him with wide, terrified eyes. He finally approached them, grabbed the paper from his father and started to read.

Shock, confusion and distress crossed his face, before finally looking up at everyone and starting to laugh hysterically.

“Is this some joke? Because it is very funny.”

Eren wanted to laugh some more, but the faces in front of him were dead serious. His head started to throb, feeling a massive headache coming as his brain vigorously worked to put two and two together.

“I— wha— y-you mean this shit is true?”

“Eren, please, we have guests from the Palace. We can talk about this later,” Carla stood up and was trying to pull her son by the arm— unfortunately to no avail, as Eren started to violently brandish the paper in Rico’s face, his voice getting shrilly with each word: “Betrothed? Me? To _that girl_?”

To an outsider, the scene that quickly unfolded was almost comical. Everyone was now standing up, Rico was shooting daggers at Eren, 49-year-old Grisha with mild arthritis getting in between his son and the burly men who were about to tackle and restrain him, Carla still pulling her son away, the Jaeger living room simply too cramped for six people— all while the Jaeger patriarch lovingly smiled down at them from his portrait above the wall.

“Please, let’s all calm down and talk properly. Eren, you are being dramatic, sit down,” said Grisha sternly, which put the brunette back to his senses and sat down obediently. Everyone else followed, and Rico cleared her throat.

“First of all, the girl that you are referring to is Mikasa Franziska Ackerman, the Crown Princess of Paradis. Please address her with utmost respect. We will not tolerate any disrespect after this incident. (Carla murmured her apologies.)

“Second, yes, Mr. Jaeger, you are betrothed to the Crown Princess. It will be up to you to decide if you will agree to the marriage, as I have mentioned earlier.”

Eren scoffed. “What, she hasn’t found some other dumb boy to marry?” To which Rico only glared at him in response, so he continued, “Heck, give her Jean Kirstein! He’s our classmate who’s been madly in love with her since Maria knows when. Here, I’ll give you his address, he lives in Trost District, 57 Cherrystone Street—“

“I am not here to discuss the Princess’ marriage preferences,” Rico interjects loudly.

“And what, she chose me? Hah!” Eren dramatically threw his hands in the air. Grisha shook his head disapprovingly beside him.

Rico shut her eyes for a moment and breathed, clearly at the end of her rope already. “Mr. Jaeger, if you continue this, I will have you arrested for contempt and you will not see the light of day until Monday,” she paused, waiting for further resistance from Eren who only huffed in return. “Now, please. Allow me to finish so we can all go our own ways as soon as possible.

“If you become part of the Royal Family, you will be required to perform certain duties such as public appearances, which means—” she narrowed her eyes at him, “—you will need to be in your best behavior.

“Finally, the Royal Family knows this is a rush, but we hope that you give your response before Monday evening. If you accept the arrangement, these are the privileges you and your family will be receiving from the Royal Family,” she pulled out another sheet of paper from the folder and handed it to Eren. “We will leave you to it, then.”

Carla heaved a sigh of relief and dropped down the couch as soon as the Palace officials left, while Grisha pulled out a handkerchief and started patting on his and his wife’s sweaty foreheads. Eren, meanwhile, just sat in silence for what felt like a very long time, unable to wrap his head around the mess that just occurred.

“This is crazy. Batshit crazy,” he finally muttered.

Grisha gently placed his hand on Eren’s shoulder. “Son, you don’t have to be pressured to do anything. Just— I don’t know. Just think about it.”

“I’m sure your grandfather will understand whatever your decision will be, and we will, too,” Carla added, rubbing his back in an attempt to keep him calm.

Talk about how a simple day can turn your whole life around. When he woke up that morning, he only thought of fixing a layered sandwich for himself, renting out a movie and watching it with Armin, Connie and Jean.

Now, he’s thinking about _marriage,_ something that has never even crossed his mind once. He just turned 18, for god’s sake, he hadn’t even had his first kiss yet. How many people can actually say they were betrothed to a royalty from the moment they were popped into the world? Eren shuddered at the thought that maybe this is all some karmic payback for being rude to that girl ( _Wouldn’t change a thing, though,_ he thought).

And then there were the very, _very_ tempting privileges, which Eren couldn’t simply ignore. Especially not now. He couldn’t earn that much money even if he took part-time jobs and worked himself to the bone. If he could only just look at it on the positive side, it’s a blessing in disguise, really. He just needs to endure marrying _that girl_. How hard could it be? And anyway, divorce is still legal in Paradis, right?

So, after much discussion with his parents and several hours of sulking in his room, Eren has decided to agree to the marriage.

Which was how he found himself having to wear an itchy rented suit last night and stepping foot inside the Palace for the first time. The magnificent architecture was nothing compared to its interiors— golden ornaments shining under the warm light, luxurious furniture, carpeted marble floors, high ceilings decorated with classical paintings. Eren felt amazed and sickened at the same time, the overall display of the Royal Family’s lavishness making his stomach turn knowing a lot of people in Paradis are struggling to feed their families.

As soon as they arrived, he was immediately pulled aside by the short but menacing Commander of the Royal Army. “Don’t even think for a moment that I don’t know how you treat my sister at school. Be careful this time, or I will personally break your bones,” he said in a low growl which sent a shiver down Eren’s spine, and he nodded passionately if only to avoid being beaten to a pulp at that moment. He has heard stories from Zeke that Commander Levi Ackerman is not someone to cross.

The evening was slightly worth it for Eren, though, as he was treated to the most unflattering look he has seen from _her_ ever that he almost laughed out loud in front of everyone. _Not so perfect now, huh?_ She must have just found out about him, because she was gawking at Eren the moment he entered the room. Had she known beforehand, Eren was sure the girl would have gone to the ends of the world just to find someone else to marry.

She was visibly uncomfortable, too, especially during dinner when she sat across him. She just silently ate her food, occasionally nodding and smiling to everyone and expertly avoiding Eren’s eyes the whole evening— not that he minded, anyway. At this point, they’re both already used to ignoring each other.

Eren focused instead on trying to figure out the functions of the numerous spoons and knives and forks, and savoring all the unfamiliar but delicious food they were served. He had to endure, however, listening to the King and Queen talking to his parents about wedding preparations and the union of the family and what-not— a nagging reminder of just how messed up everything is for him.

He wondered if they can ignore each other while being married.

Married. Him. _Her_.

They will be married in a month. A _month_.

He kind of wants to throw up.

“Wake up, Eren! You’ll be late for school again!” Carla rapped on her son’s door, pulling Eren back from his thoughts. He finally dragged his ass away from the bed to dress for school.

* * *

“Ah, the Prince has finally woken from his slumber.”

Eren looked up to find his older brother Zeke enjoying his breakfast in the dining table.

“Zeke! When did you get back?” he sat next to him and started to gobble the plate of bacon, eggs and toast that Carla prepared.

“Just last night. Everyone had to return home because the Crown Princess is getting married,” he then smacked Eren on the back while the latter was drinking his orange juice. “Who would have thought it was actually you she’d be marrying?”

Eren wiped his mouth from the spilled drink. “Shut up.”

“But seriously, Eren, if I was a little younger, I would be the one to marry her,” Zeke sniggered. “Heck, you’d be the first to marry between us!”

“Zeke,” Carla shot the blonde a warning look.

“Sorry, Auntie, I couldn’t help it. Guess I’ll be stuck with commoners,” Zeke cackled.

“Well, you _should_ have been younger,” Eren nonchalantly responded as he chewed on his toast. Grisha, who was seated at the head of the table, shook his head but with a small smile in his face. The Jaeger household just gets this lively in the morning when Zeke’s home. As a squad leader in the Royal Army of Paradis, he’s been in Marley the past year as part of the two countries’ joint military exercises.

Grisha stood up and gathered his coat, hat and medical bag. “I have to go to the hospital now, see you all later.” The others bade him goodbye, then Carla sat on the table across Eren, eyeing her son suspiciously.

“Eren, I noticed something last night,” she began, a steely edge to her voice which she employs whenever she tries to coax information out of her son. “The Princess wasn’t looking at you at all. Why’s that?”

Zeke playfully stroked his beard, still not done poking fun at his younger brother who was now rolling his eyes. “Maybe because she’s disappointed,” the older Jaeger chimed in with a smirk.

Eren’s general disdain for royals is a known fact in the family, but Carla didn’t actually have any idea just how strained his ‘relationship’ is with the girl. He considered telling his mother about it, but Grisha suddenly barged into their house running, locking the door behind him and panting with his hands on the knees. Everyone stood up anxiously.

“Grisha!”

“Th-there-s— I can’t— go out—” Grisha couldn’t form complete sentences from his uneven breathing. It’s been a long time since he sprinted that fast.

“Dad! What’s wrong?”

“Cameras— news— people—”

“You’re not making sense, old man,” even calm and easygoing Zeke was starting to get worried.

Grisha deeply inhaled, then finally blurts out. “There are reporters and paparazzi outside looking for Eren! I barely escaped!”

They all looked at each other and ran to the windows to take a peek outside.

Sure enough, they could see several heads poking outside their gate, some even reaching over the five-feet front yard wall and shamelessly taking photos of their house. They could faintly hear the buzz of the growing crowd outside.

“Oh my god,” Carla whispered.

“What is happening? Wh-why are they here?” asked Eren with a hint of panic in his voice.

“They must have found out about your engagement,” Zeke moved away from the windows and started to pace in the living room. “Probably Palace insiders.”

Eren slumped in the couch and pulled his hair, wide-eyed and utterly at a loss on how to process this brand new information. His poor brain could only take so much.

“Wh-what? Every… everyone knows?” he mumbled in despair. Of everything that has happened to him recently, this was the part he completely forgot about— he’s marrying a public figure, and he’ll be subject to public scrutiny as well.

Grisha and Carla looked at each other worriedly, fearing for their youngest son’s sanity. Zeke stood motionless for a while before finally grabbing a disconcerted Eren by the shoulders. “Listen, you can’t stay here. They’ll camp out of our house for who knows how long,” he spoke determinedly. “Dad and I are going to block them, and you go run as fast as you can. Understood?”

“But—“

“No buts. Go on, change your shoes or something. Auntie, you stay inside the house. Dad, drink some water.”

Everyone began to move and Eren didn’t know where he drew the strength to grab his school bag and quickly put on a pair of sneakers. He’s never been put in this outrageous predicament before and this is all their fault. _Her_ fault. Eren knew just how absurd his reasoning was, but so was everything happening to him, so he should get a pass on this blame game.

The three male Jaegers stepped outside the house as quietly as they could manage, crouching while walking across their small lawn.

“Fucking hell, this was not what I signed up for as a soldier,” Zeke muttered as they stood in front of the gate.

Eren was supposed to ask more questions about their plan but Zeke immediately opened the gate, and all plans have been thrown out the window. It was too late when they realized that they were absolutely unprepared for the sight in front of them.

Several vehicles of media outlets were occupying the whole street in front of their house, and around thirty heads snapped in their direction— all news reporters with their pens and notebooks and tape recorders at the ready. Eren stood frozen in shock as a chorus of voices erupted, the reporters starting to claw their way to him and bombarding him with questions as Grisha and Zeke attempted to shield Eren from the sudden ambush.

“Eren Jaeger, we need to get your statement!”

“Are you a secret lover of the Princess? How did you propose?”

“Eren Jaeger, tell us how you met the Princess!”

“Is this an arranged marriage?”

“When is the wedding?”

On the other side, a handful of aggressive photographers armed with their huge camera equipment were clicking away, shoving each other and going all-out just to get a good photo of the family, especially Eren who remained paralyzed, his eyes flitting back and forth as he failed to recall what he was supposed to do.

Recognizing that they couldn’t hold the crowd any longer, Zeke screamed at his brother. “What the hell are you doing? Run!”

That seemed to have done the trick as Eren felt the adrenaline kick in and he bolted at once, running as fast as his legs could manage. He took several turns just to shake off anybody who might have managed to follow him, and he continued running for a few more blocks until his legs started to tremble and he felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his abdomen. A queasy feeling also settled in his stomach, and unable to hold it in any longer, he stopped in an alleyway and retched his guts out. He spotted the undigested bits of bacon and toast in a puddle of orange juice, all while cursing himself for having such a physically frail body.

He leaned against the brick wall while gasping for air, planning to stay there to get a few minutes of rest. At a distance, he saw two men with large camera lenses running towards him. A string of expletives flew out of Eren’s lips— he knew he could no longer outrun them in his state, and just resigned himself to being feasted on by the vultures.

A white sports car skidded to a stop in front of him, and for a fleeting moment, the thought of getting kidnapped entered his mind, but the window on the passenger seat rolled down and he peered inside.

And on the driver’s seat was the girl of his nightmares in jeans and a red t-shirt, staring ahead with her wayfarer sunglasses on.

“Get in. Hurry.”

Eren looked back and saw the photographers catching up to him. He dismissed all second thoughts and immediately entered the car, strapping the seatbelts on. The girl stepped on the gas and the car leapt forward, pushing Eren back in his seat.

Fuck! This girl knows no speed limit!

“Slow the fuck down!” he screeched, clinging on to whatever secure thing he could grab on for dear life. He felt his heart rate picking up again as she swerved in tight corners and sped past other cars in a blur, zooming through the busy main road. Eren didn’t notice he was holding his breath in anxiety until she finally slowed down and maintained an otherwise acceptable speed.

She pressed a button on the controls and spoke in a loud and clear voice. “I found him. You can all go now, I’ll go home myself.”

“But Your Highness—“ the male voice on the speaker was immediately cut-off when she pressed the button again. She handed him a box of tissues with her other hand still on the steering wheel.

Eren straightened himself on the passenger seat and stared at the road ahead, trying to piece together how she found him retching in the alleyway, but his brain was simply too tired for puzzles at that moment, and he surely didn’t want to ask and end up being grateful to her for - _cringe_ \- saving him.

It dawned on him, too, that this is the first time they have been alone together since forever, and he was pretty sure he won’t be getting friendly with her anytime soon. Not when the sheer ridiculousness of everything that just transpired started to sink in.

“What was— what was that all about?” he asked, his lungs working double time to even his breathing.

Moments of awkward silence passed, before she pulled a newspaper from her side and tossed it to him. His eyes immediately landed on an official photograph of her on the front page.

And just below it was a smaller photograph of him during sophomore year flashing a wide, toothy grin, with the headline in huge, bold letters: “ **Crown Princess engaged to a commoner— EXCLUSIVE!** ” Eren’s eyes grew wide as saucers.

“Wh-what is this?” he asked, fuming. She continued to stare ahead and drive in her usual silence, and Eren was starting to get annoyed at her— he’s having none of her antics today when he was just chased down by paparazzi because of _her_.

“Don’t you respond to people when they talk to you?”

She sharply turned to look at him, and in that millisecond of eye-to-eye contact, Eren saw the murderous glare underneath the dark sunglasses.

“Don’t you address people by their names when you talk to them?” she shot back, staring at the road again.

Eren huffed in irritation. He was always irked by her withdrawn attitude at school, remembering that time in freshman year when she arrived at school for the first time and not bothering to speak to anyone at all. She probably thought she’s way too good for regular school. Just because she was born under better circumstances doesn’t mean she can look down on other people like shit. And what, isn’t she tired of people calling her by her name? _Does she want me to grovel and call her Princess?_ Eren was preparing a scathing response in his head when her frosty voice filled up the car again.

“We need to talk. I’ll see you at the Palace tomorrow after your lessons.”

Eren snapped his head towards her and stared hard. “Lessons? What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Etiquette lessons. To teach you some manners,” she replied, a trace of malice concealed under her facade of indifference.

The brunette let out a sardonic laugh in an effort to control his flaring temper. “What, Palace people are now the masters of good manners?”

“Compared to you, then yes, absolutely.”

Eren gaped in disbelief. She’s actually _way_ worse than he thought. Arrogant, proud, condescending— and _this_ is _the girl_ he’s going to marry? He just couldn’t stand her _at all_. How could Armin and everybody else tolerate her?

“Someone will fetch you tomorrow after school,” she spoke again.

“No, thanks, I’m not going to go to your stupid lessons,” he growled. “And I can pay for my own fare.”

“Suit yourself.”

The air was thick with hostility between the two, not speaking a word to each other again until the school came into view. Eren realized that she may be skipping school again with her casual clothing, which just irked him more. These royals are a waste of resources.

The entrance of the school were full of reporters and photographers, most likely looking for both of them, so she dropped him at the back leading to the gymnasium. He momentarily considered thanking her, but everything dreadful happening to him is her fault, so he wordlessly got off the car, slammed the door and stalked off.

* * *

Eren was relieved that the gym would be deserted at this time. He wanted to think about what to do next, and he was definitely not prepared to face his classmates who were surely going to harass him like those reporters.

He was surprised, however, to find Armin running towards him. “Eren! Thank God you’re okay! What happened?”

“A lot. What are you doing here?”

“Mikasa called me early in the morning and asked me to bring all of these,“ he handed Eren a hoodie jacket, a black face mask and a cap. “She also told me she’d be dropping you here in the back of the school.”

Eren squirmed at the slight guilt he felt with the way he treated the girl earlier, finally understanding that she may have been waiting for him in his neighborhood because she knew the media will be attacking their house. But he can’t bring himself to feel apologetic. This was _still_ her fault— she _should_ make these things as painless as possible.

Armin stared at Eren while he pushed the things inside his bag. “You’re all over the TV and papers. Are you really marrying Mikasa?”

Eren looked up at his best friend’s troubled face and realized that this is the first time he will be speaking about… this matter to anyone outside his family. “Er, yeah. Long story.”

Armin dragged him by the arm to an empty classroom beside the gym. “Okay, you have got to tell me what happened.”

Eren sat on a chair and recounted the events that kept him up all night for the past few days, the blonde nodding every now and then as he nervously paced back and forth. Once Eren finished narrating his ordeal with the reporters and paparazzi, Armin stroked his chin in contemplation. “So Mikasa didn’t know about this until last night, when your engagement was formalized?”

“I think so.”

“Why did you agree?”

“You know why.”

“Was it the allowance?”

Eren nodded. Armin resumed pacing, biting his lip and his fingers fidgety— all tell-tale signs of his discomfort about lying or hiding something. Eren started to get suspicious.

“She asked me, you know.”

The brunette raised his eyebrow, waiting for Armin to continue. He couldn’t follow what Armin was talking about, so he just blankly stared.

“She asked me to marry her. Last month.”

For the third time that morning, Eren’s eyes widened in comprehension of Armin’s words. Just when he thought he’s reached his limit of new information for the day, Armin comes dropping this bomb on him.

The girl he’s going to marry in a month… proposed to Armin? He pulled a hand to massage his temples, feeling another headache coming. Will this day ever end? It’s not even eight o’clock yet.

“Are you serious?”

Armin finally sat on the desk beside him and heaved a sigh, embarrassment evident in his bright red face. “Yeah.”

“I-is she in love with you? Hold on, are you in love with her?” Eren felt revulsed at his own question because Armin’s too smart to fall for that girl, but he just had to ask.

The blonde rolled his eyes and shook his head. “No, idiot. She said she needed to find someone to marry, and she doesn’t like anyone from her suitors, and that she’s not in love with me but she liked talking to me, so she asked if I would like to marry her,” said Armin breathlessly.

“What did you say?”

“I said no. It was crazy, really. I didn’t think she was serious, so I told her she’ll definitely find someone better and more suited for the role,” Armin then stared at Eren and gave a rueful smile. “I didn’t think it would actually be you.”

Eren started to laugh, ignoring his best friend’s words. “Holy shit, Armin. You may be the first commoner who rejected a marriage proposal from a Princess. That needs to be in the history books.”

Armin countered by also ignoring Eren’s quips, glaring at his best friend. “Eren, you have to treat Mikasa right from now on.”

It puzzled Eren to no end how Armin and that girl became the best of friends, when Armin is humble and kind— a complete opposite of that intolerable girl who goes off punching people. It sometimes made him fear for Armin’s life. How annoying that he had to share his best friend with that girl, of all people.

Seeing how Eren’s turning a blind eye to his words, Armin continued to prod. “I’m serious, Eren. You are going to be her husband, her partner for life.”

An unpleasant feeling started to creep in on Eren. When he agreed to all of this, he only thought of his perspective, how he’s marrying at such a young age and having to tolerate that girl’s presence from now on, and how crazy he was agreeing to all of this. The serious implications Armin was talking about never really crossed his mind, especially that part where…

“You’re going to have a child, Eren. She’ll need to have a successor, if your brain hasn’t processed that, yet.”

“Wh-what? N-no way!” Eren stood up abruptly, the metal desk in front of him flipping sideways with a loud clang.

They both cringed at the noise, waiting for someone to burst through the door to check. No one did, thankfully. “Please tell me you have thought of those things?”

“Are you kidding me?” Now Eren was the one pacing, wildly throwing his hands in the air in exasperation. “I only found out about these things like a few days ago, you can’t expect me to think that far ahead!”

“Oh dear Sina,” Armin brought both his palms to his face. “Eren, you’ll be the Crown Prince of Paradis. You have to remember that from now on. And it will be your responsibility to take care of her, support her as she ascends the throne, and be the father of her children.”

Eren started to blush furiously and stared at the blackboard, dumbfounded. Armin’s words were a painful slap of reality that jolted him awake. As always, the blonde was right— he is in for a lifetime, and he is positively fucked.

Noticing that class will soon start, Armin slung both their bags over his shoulders and dragged a stunned and gaping Eren by the arm. “Come on, let’s go.”

* * *

The news of Eren and Mikasa’s engagement spread like wildfire in their school. Everyone in the classrooms and hallways were exchanging gossips (“Did you hear the news?” “You mean Eren Jaeger and Mikasa Ackerman from 4-01? I thought they were sworn enemies!” “It’s like a fairy tale!”), while the teachers were in the entrance gates shooing away the reporters and paparazzi.

“This is a school and this is a safe space for our students. Please leave, or I will call the police,” Principal Smith’s booming voice echoed throughout the first floor of the school.

As soon as Eren and Armin entered the classroom, the loud chitchat died down and everyone fell silent, shooting Eren with looks of confusion and amazement. Nobody knew what to say, really.But these all went unnoticed by Eren who just mindlessly walked to his desk, his brain still filled with Armin’s words. Jean, Connie, Sasha and Annie had other plans, however, and jumped on him at once, completely snubbing Armin who was frantically making an X gesture with his hands.

“What the hell, Jaeger? How did this happen?” asked Jean with his arms crossed.

“Eren, is it really true? Are you really going to marry Mikasa? How are we only finding out about this?” Sasha added.

“Eren, you sneaky shit, I thought you hated Mikasa,” Connie snickered.

“Of course he’d hate her, she’s stronger than him. I guess that punch four years ago caught your attention, huh,” Annie taunted.

Jean shook his head regretfully. “If I knew Mikasa would marry a commoner, I should have flirted at her way sooner.”

Eren already anticipated that his friends would be asking way too many questions, but he just had too much that morning to last him a lifetime. Everything was overwhelming all at once— the questions, the (late) realizations, the girl. Nothing was making sense to him anymore.

He ruffled his hair in frustration and suddenly slammed his fists. “Enough! All of you, get away from my desk!”

Eren can’t wait for this day to end and just go back to staring at his ceiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, thank you so, so much to everyone who gave some love for the first chapter/oneshot! You inspired me to add a new chapter and make it a full-blown fic. I appreciate it a lot ;_;
> 
> As correctly guessed by some of the comments in the first chapter, the premise of this fic is based on the awesome Korean manhwa/drama entitled "Goong"/"Palace"/"Princess Hours", you can check it out if you're interested! But I have changed and will be changing things to fit our characters. I already have an outline of things to happen, so I hope I manage to push through before the manga ends (endlessly sobbing).
> 
> That said, I found this chapter kinda difficult to write (took me two weeks), largely because I didn't want to half-ass it and I really wanted to put in effort into my writing. As a newbie in creative writing, I'm still learning A LOT, so I hope you bear with me. Feedback will be greatly appreciated! Thank you so much once again and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	3. Of Weddings and Prince Lessons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren decides to be upfront about his motives to Mikasa.

No one can affect Eren with words the way Armin can, and it has actually caused both good and bad things for the future Crown Prince of Paradis.

The gravity of his situation hit him like a hurtling truck, and he instantly regretted his decision to agree to the marriage without seriously considering the concomitant duties he is supposed to fulfill (“My goodness, Eren, it’s _marriage_ , what did you really expect? A picnic?” said Armin in his most sarcastic tone). He will be under immense pressure from the Royal Family, from the Government, and from the public, in addition to dealing with the girl for probably the rest of his life, and the _things_ they are expected to, er, _perform_ as husband and wife (but that is something that Eren does not want to be reminded of right now, please and thank you.)

He has never taken on heavy responsibilities on his shoulders, save for that time when Armin was sick for a month and he had to cover for his Class Rep duties (and that was taxing as hell), but that’s it. He has never been put in the spotlight before, Public Speaking is his worst subject in school (although unknown to him, his impromptu rants usually had an impact on most of his classmates), and he certainly cannot take care of a human being aside from himself, let alone a girl he despises so much.

It’s too late to back out now, though— not when the whole world already knows about their engagement, and not when he badly needs the money right now. Once again, he is reminded of the reason why he agreed to all of this in the first place, and he knew deep down that he would go to great lengths just to get what he wants (or needs), even if he had to marry _that girl_ ten times over.

So, he steels himself and resolves to carry on with everything that he is required to do. After all, he is eighteen, he needs to man up and be responsible of his decisions. (And also, he does not want to make a fool out of himself in public.)

All of these he chanted in his head like a prayer as he begrudgingly went with the bodyguards who escorted him to the Palace for his lessons.

Thankfully, the afternoon did not go as bad as he imagined it would be, as Rico just eased him in with an orientation. He is to attend lessons in the Palace every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday until the wedding on the 23rd of September, which is four weeks from now (Eren shivered involuntarily— the date felt closer when they talk of weeks).

“I will teach you the proper manners befitting of a Crown Prince, the proper language, the proper posture—“ Rico slaps a stick to Eren’s hunched shoulders, “—the wedding traditions of the Royal Family, the history of Paradis and the Royal Family, the powers granted to the monarchy in the constitution…”

Eren stifled a yawn while Rico was busy grabbing old, thick books from the shelf for his ‘homework’, and studied in interest the two swords on display behind Rico’s office table.

An hour later, they toured the Palace, with Rico emphasizing that he needs to start learning how to navigate the large place on his own soon. As the most loyal employee of the Royal Family, she recited to him by heart the name of every room and its respective histories and functions.

“...And this is the Great Hall where the wedding reception will be held. It was in this hall three hundred years ago that the Fritz dynasty ended and was ousted by a coup led by the Ackermans, when the last Fritz King was going insane,” she narrated. Eren didn’t bother to take note of anything because all the rooms looked the same to him, and he just wanted to go home.

Finally, Rico led him to a large room that looked much different from the others they visited.

“This is the apartment where you will be living with the Crown Princess as soon as you get married.”

Eren’s jaw slackened as he took in the place. It was so spacious that he was sure this was much bigger than his own house, but it was cozy enough to make the place feel more comfortable and homely. It had a living room with a fireplace, a dining area, a pantry, and a wide terrace overlooking the gardens. The whole interior gave off a rustic vibe, the Palace obviously not sparing any expense with the modern furnishings, and he immediately berated himself for taking a liking of the place. He was such a hypocrite.

Most important for him, however, was the fact that there were two separate bedrooms for him and the girl, only adjoined by a sliding glass door (Eren did not complain at all over this— he actually imagined the sleeping arrangements to be _much_ _worse_ ). He could not hold back a sigh of relief as he scanned the rooms, which had their own bathrooms, walk-in closets the size of his room, and even study tables and shelves.

Rico cleared her throat from the bedroom door, and Eren quickly turned to face her after running his hand over the soft sheets of the bed. Standing beside her was one of the bodyguards who escorted him earlier, a tall, black-haired boy, probably of the same age as Eren, with freckles on his face too many to count.

“Mr. Jaeger, this is Marco Bott. He will be your personal valet starting today, and he will be assisting you in all your needs.”

Marco smiled good-naturedly and bowed to him. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Jaeger. I am Marco Bott, at your service.

Eren’s head looked like it was going to fall off with the way he shook it intensely. “N-no, I don’t need an assistant—“

“It’s protocol, Mr. Jaeger. Please understand,” Rico held up her hand to stop Eren from whatever he was planning to say. “For now, he won’t follow you around like a bodyguard, but he will be escorting you to the Palace and on your way home.”

“But—“

“That’s it for this afternoon, Mr. Jaeger. I’ll see you again on Friday. Princess Mikasa will be coming here in a while to talk to you, and Marco will be waiting for you outside.”

Before he could declare that he will just ride the train on his way home, Rico and Marco were already out of the apartment.

The eerie silence of the room steadily crept into him, and Eren could almost hear the conflict kicking off in his head. He took in his surroundings once more and insisted that this was all too extravagant for him, but as much as he tried to stop himself, a tiny part inside felt excited at the prospect of experiencing this luxury. He was beginning to hate himself a lot.

Feeling suffocated by his own thoughts, he walked to the terrace and found himself drawing his breath at the picturesque view of the sun beginning to set on the horizon. He slightly leaned over the balustrade, closed his eyes and inhaled the fragrance of the flowers in the garden below, willing himself to relax and just take pleasure in whatever his senses could register.

“Nice view, isn’t it? I picked this apartment myself because of the sunset.”

Eren looked over his shoulders to find the girl stepping into the terrace. He wasn’t used to seeing her outside school and in anything that isn’t their school uniform, and today she looked like she just came straight from some meeting with people who matter. The thought of having to wear formal clothes for the rest of his life dampened his mood.

She mimicked his position, but maintained a distance from him. For several minutes they were both just standing on the terrace, watching the sun paint the sky with a soft orange hue in its slow descent. A gentle breeze blew past them, mussing Eren’s brown, shaggy mop. He wondered if he would be required to cut his hair.

If Eren wasn’t too stubborn to admit, the silence between them wasn’t so bad— he still loathed her, but it relieved him that he doesn’t have to make small talk and pretend around her. They are used to _this_.

“Why did you agree?” she asked, and despite their unpleasant interaction yesterday, she sounded genuinely curious.

“None of your beeswax.”

She clicked her tongue in annoyance and Eren smiled to himself in satisfaction. There was just something about breaking the cool demeanor that Eren was pretty sure is only a facade.

“It is _my_ _beeswax_ , Eren Jaeger,” she replied wearily. “You are going to be my hus—… part of the family soon, and I need to know your intentions.” Eren grimaced, and silently agreed that speaking their status out loud will just make it too real for the both of them.

He turned his head to face her. “Why did _you_ agree? You should tell me first how we both ended up in this situation.”

The lampposts in the walkways were lighting up one by one, and orange and indigo were now clashing in the sky above them. Eren heard her exhale heavily. “I failed to choose a groom and the ministers were already pressuring my father, so the, uh, decree took effect.”

“So, basically, this is _all_ _your_ fault.”

“Excuse me, you clearly had the last chance to avoid this train wreck. But no, Eren Jaeger always wants to blame _me_ for everything,” she narrowed her dark eyes at him as she tried her damndest not to snap, and Eren was matching it with a scowl. Deep inside, though, he was definitely enjoying getting a rise out of her. “So? Why did you agree?”

Eren paused for a while to consider if it was a good idea to be upfront about his true motives, but decided to just fuck it all. She will soon find out anyway. “I need the allowance.”

“I know that, but—“

“OK, hold on, did you just assume that I am just in it for the money?” Eren snapped.

“Please, why else would you want to marry me? I know you hate me, Eren Jaeger.

“But something doesn’t seem to add up,” she continued, ignoring Eren’s glares while she leaned her cheek in her palm, looking bored as ever. “Your father is a respectable doctor with a steady income, and your brother is a squad leader in the army.”

Eren remained quiet, still seething from the girl’s classic display of elitism (somehow he cannot seem to accept that she thought of him that way even when she is a hundred percent right), so she faced him fully and took one step closer to him, holding both her palms up. “Look, I just need to know you are not going to spend the money on something illegal.”

“You are unbelievable,” he scoffed, and began to point a finger at her. “First, you insult me by assuming I am a money-grubber, and now you think I am a criminal?”

She opened her mouth and shut it quickly.

“You listen, _Princess_ ,” Eren spit out the last word with as much contempt as he could muster. “My mother is sick. She needs to have this expensive surgery in her abdomen as soon as possible before her aneurysm ruptures. My father and brother’s combined income would have been enough if it were not for the urgency of the operation. Are you now satisfied with my explanation, or do you need further proof, _your highness_?”

Eren glowered at her, bracing himself for a violent reaction equal to his outburst, but she only blinked at him with wide eyes and her mouth slightly open, shock (and another unreadable expression) written all over her face. He took a step back and looked away— this was the last reaction he was expecting from her.

“Is… is it that expensive?” she squeaked, still gawking at him.

Eren snorted. “Healthcare isn’t really the cheapest here in Paradis. But of course you don’t know anything about that because your family is out of touch with reality.”

She didn’t seem fazed with his words and only continued to gawk.

“I am sorry… about your mother,” she murmured after a while. If Eren wasn’t looking at her, he might have mistaken that gentle sound to come from somewhere else. He saw the unreadable expression again.

“Stop acting like she’s dying. She’s alive. She’s gonna have the operation as soon as I get my allowance.”

The girl seemed to be consoled by his words as her tense shoulders relaxed. “Well then,” she said, her voice returning to that stony, indifferent tone again, “It looks like we need each other right now, Eren Jaeger. I know we haven’t really been in good terms, but you need the money, and I need a husband, so I hope we can work together.”

She stuck her hand out to him which he eyed suspiciously. He slapped it away.

“No. We need to make clear terms first.”

“Fine. You do the job required of you as Crown Prince _properly_ , especially when there are other people around, then we can avoid each other when it’s just the two of us. And you have to keep your…” she waved a hand at him, “…feelings about the Royal Family under wraps.”

“Are you now censoring me for my valid criticisms?”

She rolled her eyes.

“Fine. This is temporary, right? We _are_ going to get… _divorced_?”

The girl crossed her arms and glared at him. “No Ackerman monarch has been divorced. It is frowned upon for monarchs to get divorced, let alone a female monarch.”

Eren gritted his teeth. “So, what, we’ll be stuck with each other until we die?”

“I cannot promise you anything, but I am open to the idea. Let’s play it by ear.” The conversation was clearly over for her as she made a motion to leave, but Eren harshly grabbed her wrist, “Woah, I need your word!”

He cursed himself for letting his impulses reign over him, as it is always a bad idea to do anything aggressive in front of the girl who is gifted in hand-to-hand combat. She freed her hand from him in one swift movement and twisted his own wrist to his back. Much as he tried, he couldn’t wiggle himself away from her firm grip.

“You are not the only one who isn’t happy about this,” she whispered coldly in his ear reminiscent of the Commander’s low growl, except this time he was _very aware_ of her breath on his neck. These Ackermans will be the death of him. “Your best bet right now is that I will see to it that we will each have our own freedoms. So just behave yourself, do not cause issues for the press to talk about, and do not touch the Crown Princess without her consent.”

She released him with a shove and disappeared inside the room, followed by a slam of the apartment door.

“Arrogant b— …witch,” he muttered to himself as he massaged his wrists.

On his way home, it finally dawned on him what her unreadable expression meant.

It was sadness.

She was sad. For him.

* * *

In the next few weeks leading up to the wedding, Eren was preoccupied with a lot of things— Prince lessons, school, more Prince lessons, more school, wash, rinse, repeat.

To say that Rico was dedicated in her pursuit to ‘educate’ the future Crown Prince was an understatement— she was absolutely relentless and unforgiving. She prepared lectures, quizzes, and even oral tests, and Eren was expected to study at home during their days off (apparently, cold calls were a thing even if he was the only student). When he bombed his first quiz, Rico made him practice waving to every Palace staff that passed by, to his complete and utter embarrassment. Since then, Eren studied like his life depended on it.

She made him memorize different cuisines from all over the world, a long list of dining etiquette, and the Crown Princess’ meal preferences and allergies (he wanted to pull a prank on her by sneaking some peanuts in her food, but eventually decided against it). Posture is also one of Rico’s obsessions, and she made Eren balance books on his head while he sat during their lessons or while he practiced a speech. Ironically, he suffered back pains from practicing proper posture too much.

Much to Eren’s relief, the Palace was able to fend off the media from harassing the Jaeger family at least until the wedding, but he (and sometimes Grisha) occasionally had photographers following him like stalkers. It was uncomfortable at the very least, but Eren was glad that Marco was always with him during those moments.

Surprisingly, Marco became Eren’s confidant in this whole Prince ordeal because of how warmhearted and understanding he was without feeling like he was just bootlicking. His opinions mattered to Eren, too, given the perspectives he had as a commoner and as an employee of the Royal Family. He sympathized with Eren every time he had a rough lesson with Rico, but also emphasizing to him why he needs to do all the things required of him.

“It’s alright, Mr. Jaeger. We all have our reasons for every decision that we make, and we cannot judge a person for something they truly believe in, so long as no one is harmed in the process,” Marco said when Eren opened up to him about his sentiments over the arranged marriage. He was probably better off as a social worker or a nurse for kids, but all the same, Eren was glad to have one friend in the Palace.

Well, two friends, actually. He also met Petra, the girl’s private assistant, who was assigned to teach him waltz for the first dance in the wedding reception. Just like Marco, she was considerate with Eren’s adjustment over learning a lot of things he is not used to like ballroom dancing, which Eren honestly preferred over Rico’s tough love teaching method— in just two sessions, he learned the basics of the dance and the routine they will be doing.

When he finally had to rehearse the dance with the girl, it ended up with Eren doubling over in pain when he stepped on the girl’s toes and she kicked him in the shin in retaliation

“OK, that’s enough, both of you. Don’t bicker,” Petra stopped the music and approached them in the center of the dance hall. “This is just a simple choreography, so the key to make the dance captivating would have to be your stance and graceful movements.”

“He’s stiff as a tree,” the girl deadpanned. Eren stuck out his tongue and faced Petra with puppy-dog eyes.

“Look, Petra, is there any way to arrange all of this so that I will just have to dance with you instead?”

A figure announced their presence with a loud knock in the door, and the three of them turned their heads. Petra and the girl immediately bowed, Eren mimicking them a second too late.

“Dad, what are you doing here?” the girl asked.

“I just wanted to personally make sure the preparations for the wedding are going smoothly,” said King Liudolf kindly. He eyed Eren who was scratching the back of his head. “Mr. Jaeger, let’s take a walk.”

Eren looked at his companions helplessly, feeling downright terrified that the King heard his squabble with the girl, but he nonetheless complied. They walked side by side in silence in the Palace hallways, Eren slightly limping. He didn’t know where the King was leading him, and he couldn’t think clearly due to the throbbing pain in his leg, until they turned in a corner and arrived in the… kitchens.

“Get this young man some ice pack, please,” he ordered as they both sat in a table, and the staff complied with frantic movements. They were obviously not expecting a visit from the King himself. “The kick must hurt real bad. Sometimes Mikasa doesn’t know when to hold back her kicks and punches.” His eyes twinkled in amusement, and Eren was positive that he knew about the punching incident years ago. He was mortified.

“I’m fine, Your Majesty,” Eren managed to choke out.

“Once again, thank you for doing this. It must have been a difficult decision to make. I hope you are not regretting anything yet, I heard Rico’s been overworking you.”

 _Oh, I have been regretting it every single day_ , he wanted to say, but it was not the kind of thing you say out loud especially to the King.

“It’s alright, Sir. I am fully aware that I still have a lot of things to learn,” he replied. Now he just sounds like a suck up, but he couldn’t help but be respectful towards the King who exuded an air of power and command beneath the cheerful face. Eren was pretty certain The Siblings From Hell got their tough temperament from him.

“I remember those days when all I did was study history and etiquette. I hated it a lot,” King Liudolf stroked his chin in recollection, a chuckle escaping his lips. The intimidating cold calls and exhausting practices flashed in Eren’s mind and he wanted to agree wholeheartedly, but he just nodded slowly.

“But you know, Eren, it doesn’t really matter to me if you ignore all protocols, or become the most impolite Prince of Paradis, or you forget all the names in the Ackerman family tree,” King Liudolf said, and he gave Eren a long, hard stare. “What matters to me is that you learn to protect my daughter.”

The absolute tenderness and sincerity in the King’s voice took Eren by surprise, and at that moment all he saw was a man entrusting his most beloved daughter to him. “Of course, Sir,” he responded, albeit with slight hesitation. “But I think she can very well protect herself, especially from me.”

King Liudolf gave a hearty laugh. “Well, Mikasa is strong for sure, but she is still my little girl, and if… unexpected things happen, I want you to protect her. And I have a feeling that you will be able to do the job.”

“I will try my best, Sir,” was all Eren could say as he brushed aside the ominous undertone of the King’s words. _What the hell did I get myself into._

“That’s good enough for me,” he stood up and patted Eren’s shoulder. “That’s all. Go home now, and spend the rest of the week with your family.”

* * *

The royal wedding became one of the biggest events Paradis has seen in recent years. Newspapers and television shows were filled with the Palace’s grand preparations, and speculations of the arranged marriage quickly died down. As expected, public opinion tilted positively for the Royal Family, mainly because it will be the first time in history that a future monarch will be marrying a commoner, in this case the handsome son of a doctor and housewife. It was like a scene lifted straight from a fairytale book, and the public can’t get enough of it.

Excitement was fever pitch and thousands flocked to the main roads in the afternoon to witness the bride and groom’s carriages to Sina Cathedral. People waved their small flags with the Royal Family’s emblem, some even going the extra mile with personalized posters showing support for the young couple. Screams, cheers, and music filled the streets, the country celebrating that succession to the monarchy will be secured with the exchange of marital vows and rings.

For Eren, though, everything was just a performance— but boy, was it a performance of a lifetime.

The stage was all set, the audience in their proper places, and all eyes are on him and the Crown Princess. Eren is fully dressed in his costume of black trousers and tuxedo with a tie, waistcoat, and dress shirt underneath. He has memorized his lines by heart (“I, Eren Jaeger, take thee, Mikasa Franziska Ackerman to be my lawfully wedded wife, yadda, yadda, yadda”) but the formalities were the most nerve-wracking for him (“Am I supposed to kiss the King’s hand when he gives her to me or something?” he frantically whispered to Armin, one of his groomsmen, while the procession was going on. “No, Eren, per royal tradition, you kiss Mikasa’s right hand because she is your bride.”) Good thing that will be the only kiss they will share on that day— thank Sina for protocols and antiquated traditions.

Basically, it was just a whole day of Eren holding the girl’s hand and trying to not to fall flat on his face. He was simply going through the motions, because in reality, it was actually the girl doing most of the heavy lifting of the show, and she was damn good at it.

She was an expert in drawing all eyes on her. Soft gasps were heard from the audience when she stepped out of her carriage, and she carried herself with elegance and poise as she waved to the crowd in her lace-sleeved, ivory satin wedding dress that will be talked about for years to come. The loose curls in her long black hair bounced in her every movement, and she had a soft smile that enchanted anyone who laid eyes on her— well, except for Eren, who noticed that it was the kind of smile that never really reached one’s eyes.

During the reception, their first dance as husband and wife was practically led by her, and they both survived it without any injured shins or bleeding toes. Eren was secretly relieved by this; his mind was preoccupied with staying upright in the slippery dance floor.

The whole performance actually went well if Eren could say so himself, but his biggest hurdle, really, were the conversations with the guests. One month is not enough to acquire the patience and skills to deal with powerful and influential figures from all over the world who came to congratulate them.

 _Darius Zackley, Royal Advisor. Dot Pixis, Prime Minister. Kiyomi Azumabito, the girl’s aunt and Hizuru’s ambassador. Rod Reiss, Health Minister. Willy Tybur, the mining magnate from Marley._ These were just some of the names that trickled in his head as the girl made small talk with each of them, Eren only nodding beside her and occasionally flashing a fake smile. They are the same people who wield the power to make changes yet choose not to, but he swallowed the anger bubbling inside him— he promised that he will behave today, plus Commander Levi has been keeping an eye on him like a predator.

Their friends, who participated in the wedding as bridesmaids and groomsmen, also came by to greet them. It was impressive how they managed to act with decorum during the whole event, particularly Connie and Sasha. Annie and Jean, however, could not hold back their side comments about how bizarre it was to see Eren and Mikasa standing next to each other without one of them having a meltdown. Armin just dragged them away like the good friend that he was.

“Your hands are clammy,” the girl whispered when she briefly let go of his hand to dry both their palms with her handkerchief. He bit back a retort and rolled his eyes. They have just successfully escaped a drunk Pixis who has been shoving a glass of wine to Eren, when the butler announced that the fireworks display will be starting in five minutes, signaling the end of the reception.

“Finally. I can’t wait to get away from here and just sleep,” Eren muttered. The girl pulled him excitedly to the balcony, and he lightly rubbed his hands when the cold evening wind hit his face. The guests gathered behind the newlyweds in anticipation, and the chatters quickly died down as the first trail of light shot in the sky and erupted, the vibrant sparks cascading like waterfalls. Soon enough, roars of explosion thundered on and successive bursts of colors illuminated the starless night sky, sending everyone in a chorus of ooh’s and ah’s.

“It’s so beautiful,” the girl said quietly to herself, and the unusual softness of her voice made Eren shift his attention to her. He would never admit it to anyone in a million years, but Eren found himself breathless as he caught a glimpse of her face. Everything around him literally slowed down, and everything just became background, and his mind went blank, and he could not tear his eyes away from her—

She was smiling ear to ear in childlike adoration of the thousands of lights falling like shooting stars. Her usually dark eyes brightened with every explosion of yellows and reds and greens, it was like seeing an entirely different person for the first time. The glow from the fireworks made her look ethereal, and this time, the girl’s genuine smile left Eren practically spellbound. A strange sensation rushed through him when he noticed the crinkle in the corners of her almond-shaped eyes and the way her full lips parted as she beamed, and he could hear the loud pounding in his chest as he felt an unexplainable urge to brush away the fringe out of her eyes, just so he could fully see her face.

She turned her gaze towards him and confusion briefly passed her face, probably because he was staring at her stupidly. Eren felt his face heat up and he looked away immediately, but not without sneaking side glances at her. It was safe to say that he missed a huge part of the fireworks display.

* * *

As Eren lay in his new, king-sized bed that night, he wondered how he could have missed a fact so painfully obvious as night and day. At last, he knows what the fuss is all about.

 _This does not change anything, though_ , he tells himself, but the image of her beaming face is now imprinted in his mind, and before the exhaustion swept his wakefulness, Eren Jaeger admits as much to himself that Mikasa Ackerman may be the most beautiful girl he has ever seen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you once again to everyone who showered some love last chapter I read your comments I am just very shy but will try to reply to them later ;_; I am sooooo sorry for this delay lol. I ain't making any excuses anymore hahah so I hope you enjoy the chapter, I hope it isn't too long and boring, and feedback is extremely appreciated!!!! Love you all!!!!!
> 
> Also cami @fevversinherhair wrote an amaaaaazing EM oneshot “Bad Idea” go check it out it was so cute and fluffy!!! Let’s all share some EM love :)


	4. Discoveries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikasa struggles with living under one roof with Eren Jaeger.

Today is Day Five of living with Eren Jaeger, and Mikasa just wants to stuff him in a box and ship him off to Marley.

What a terrible luck she has. She doesn’t know if this is fate playing a twisted game to the both of them when the threads in the cosmos brought their ancestors together and had their descendants pair for life. She faintly wished that her grandfather was rolling in his grave now, witnessing how Eren Jaeger had grown up to become the little shit he is.

In the few weeks leading up to their wedding, however, she thought that their relationship has actually progressed from ‘hostile’ to ‘civil’. Her heart ached for him when he candidly told her that he is doing this for his ill mother— no one deserves to live under the constant fear of losing a parent, and despite Eren Jaeger’s obnoxiousness, Mikasa saw a young man who will do anything for the people he loves. Animosity aside, that was a significant thing that earned her respect.

Granted, they always looked the other way whenever they passed into one another in the Palace halls, and he had only spoken her name just once during their wedding vows, but these were infinitely better than the perpetual scowl directed at her. They even endured holding each other’s hands the whole wedding day, and he was gracious enough to fix the skirt of her wedding dress once in a while. He was a sport, really, displaying an enormous amount of self-control despite being surrounded by people he detests. Maybe this will be bearable for them, after all.

Or so she thought, because his perpetual scowl is back, and Mikasa believes that he may have made it his personal mission to make her life miserable.

On Day One of Living with Eren Jaeger, the dumbass kicked out the Palace staff who were about to clean their apartment, and he refused to let the kitchen staff serve the courses of their meals.

“Why the fuck do we need to have other people do a job we can perfectly do?” Eren Jaeger asked Mikasa as he eyed warily the staff setting down all their lunch on the dining table.

“That’s how it is here,” she deadpanned, eating her pumpkin soup across him.

“Oh yeah? Well, you better tell them not to do those things ever again in this apartment. We clean our own rooms, and they can just bring the food in like a normal household,” he said while stuffing his plate with salad and roast beef. “No serving. That shit is uncomfortable three times a day.”

As expected, Levi made them clean the whole apartment on Day Two, when the Commander visited the newlyweds and noticed the thin layer of dust on the glass windows. He declared Saturday as the couple’s cleaning day, and appointed himself as the supervisor.

Mikasa would have been fine with the setup since she’s already used to Levi’s cleaning habits and techniques, but she could not drown out Eren Jaeger’s incessant grumbling as he wiped the windows for the third time that morning.

“Shut your mouth, will you?” Mikasa snapped, stowing the polishing machine away and crossing to the dining area to clean the table and chairs. “This is your fault. Levi is a clean freak, so you better not half-ass your job or he will make you repeat that over and over.”

“This is a window, it’s supposed to catch dust!”

Mikasa rolled her eyes and resumed wiping the table while Eren Jaeger prattled on. “And I don’t understand why we are being punished for easing the burden of the staff!”

“Do you have any problem with your chores, Jaeger?” Levi noiselessly re-entered the apartment and Eren Jaeger nearly slipped off the ladder he was standing on. It was a delight for Mikasa to see him fold in Levi’s presence.

“None, Sir,” he replied in a low voice.

On Day Three, he approached her in the living room with his chest puffed out, declaring in his strident voice that they should mark their respective territories in the apartment. Mikasa ignored him, her face buried on the book she was reading on the couch.

“…Obviously, bedrooms are particularly off-limits. That glass door will never be opened. Ever. Can we put paper in there so we don’t see each other at all?”

“No. I don’t want anything that will make my room look ugly,” Mikasa replied impassively, but Eren Jaeger’s litany of demands was starting to annoy the hell out of her. She just wanted to read her goddamn book in peace.

“Fine. The common areas are neutral, but we can’t stay in the living room at the same time,” he resumed his rambling while he paced in front of her, and his distracting movements were pushing her near breaking point. “I get to stay here from eight in the evening because that’s when my favorite show airs, and I don’t want us to be watching a show together.”

“This is my apartment, I can go to my living room any time I want to.”

“Well, Princess, this is _my_ apartment now, too.”

She slammed her book shut and sharply raised her head towards him. She did not miss the way he jerked in surprise. “One more, Eren Jaeger, and I will kick you right now if you do not stop disturbing me.”

He glared back at her, but Mikasa could see the gears in his head calculating whether it was worth getting his limbs paralyzed. “Fine. Whenever we are both here, I get to sit on the couch while you sit somewhere else uncomfortable.”

She stood from the couch and resumed reading from the high-back armchair on the other side of the living room.

On Day Four, Mikasa woke up to a persistent knocking on her bedroom door early in the morning. She rubbed her eyes open, unable to sleep the previous night due to the deafening volume in the TV that probably kept awake the whole East Wing of the palace— courtesy of the spawn of the devil that was her new husband.

She was more than ready to raise hell to whoever was on the other side of the door, but she was greeted by Petra’s frightened honey-colored eyes.

“Your Highness, Prince Eren is leaving the Palace.”

Mikasa promptly stormed to the other bedroom, undeterred by the heaviness in her head due to the drowsiness. She could make out Marco’s pleading voice and Eren Jaeger’s hurried footsteps.

“…There are paparazzi everywhere, Your Highness, given that the wedding was just days ago. We need to let the hype die down first,” Marco dogged Eren Jaeger as the latter walked to and from his closet and bed where two duffel bags were almost filled with clothes.

She grabbed him roughly by the collar.

“What the hell is your problem? Why are you acting like an immature toddler?”

Eren Jaeger’s icy expression stared back at her. It unnerved Mikasa to some degree, being familiar only of the boy with a burning passion in his eyes unlike any other. At that moment, though, all she could see was the same coldness that the worst winters bring.

She tightened her grip on him.

“Let go of me. I hate it here. This place is a prison.”

Sensing that he does not want to further explain himself, Mikasa flicked her gaze to Marco who was visibly shaking. “Ms. Rico did not allow Prince Eren to—“

“Stop calling me that,” Eren Jaeger spit out through gritted teeth. He kept his emerald eyes locked on Mikasa.

“—Ms. Rico did not allow Mr. Jaeger to go to school this week.”

Mikasa let out a heavy breath and gradually released him from her clutch. For an unfathomable reason, that made sense to her somehow. She sat on his bed and shut her eyes, willing herself to think past the unwelcome thoughts that flooded her mind. _Prison, huh?_ —

He continued gathering his things, and Mikasa absentmindedly watched him attempt to push his books in the little space left in his bag. Pity and distress spread within her— she knew how important school was for him (which was sometimes borderline ridiculous, if truth be told), but Mikasa was smart enough to piece together the genuine issue underlying the seemingly simplistic problem.

Eren Jaeger could not live a life of restrictions.

Yet, it’s the inevitable truth that came with living in the palace. And at this point, feeling sorry for him will not do them any good.

“Listen, Eren,” she spoke in a hushed voice despite the inner turmoil raging in her chest. He stopped in his tracks, his back turned to everyone in the room. “I’m sorry. I truly am. But you can’t walk out of this place just four days after our wedding. Public opinion may not matter to you, but it matters to me. You know the responsibility I carry for this country, right?

“I promise to talk to Rico so we can go to school tomorrow. And I promise to… to make this easier for you. Just… Don’t forget our agreement, please.”

A thick, suffocating silence settled in the room for so long. Eren Jaeger remained rooted to the spot, then his clenched fists slowly loosened, his stiff shoulder relaxing.

“All of you, _get out_ of _my_ room.”

— _Prison, huh. What a pain._

And now on Day Five, he is back to his obnoxious self as if he did not just lose his marbles the previous day, and a part of Mikasa deeply regrets her display of emotions to him.

They bickered early in the morning over whether to use a bigger or smaller car to go to school, and they eventually both sat in the back of the heavily-tinted SUV of Rico’s choice with as much space between them as possible.

Mikasa cannot believe it’s just been five days. Well, technically, it’s been more that a month since their lives have intertwined in the most unexpected of ways. In such a short span of time, her world was literally turned upside-down with the intensity of the hurricane that is Eren Jaeger, and she has no idea how she will survive the destructive tempest that he brings with him.

* * *

“Can we not have lunch together?” Eren addressed his friends who gathered around their desks when the bell rang for lunchtime. “I have seen her face for five straight days.”

Eren is easy to describe in the eyes of others, being defined only by a common characteristic. He can be a handful sometimes (except for Armin who’s been dealing with his crap since they were eight years old) when his emotions are amplified twice the average person’s threshold. Normal people are motivated, but Eren is driven, allowing him to land in the honor roll every year even without the wits and abilities. Normal people get angry, but Eren feels rage. And there is just something about the Crown Princess that really sets him off.

While he is long past the phase of verbally attacking Mikasa that kept everyone on edge, he has never learned full self-restraint in her presence. Instead, their friends have witnessed the two of them wage a cold war all throughout high school, and they have soon learned to navigate their friendship group around Eren and Mikasa’s thinly-veiled enmity and passive-aggression.

But circumstances are different now, and no one knows exactly what to do.

They exchanged glances upon hearing Eren’s words, contemplating whether it was proper to jump in and mediate like they always did. But before any of them could react, Mikasa spoke right away. “Agreed. Sasha, Annie, Armin and I will eat in the garden.”

“Woah, why is Armin going with you?”

“Because we always have lunch together,” Mikasa passed the lunchboxes to Sasha and took hold of Armin’s wrist. “Come on, Armin.”

“No, he will go with us boys,” Eren grabbed Armin’s other wrist, his eyes flashing in irritation. The blonde whimpered at the harsh tugging between his two best friends who were now in the middle of their glaring contest.

“Oi, Eren,” Jean said warningly, and Annie placed her hand on Mikasa’s shoulder. The two did not budge, and their deathly hold was becoming too unbearable for the blonde.

“Oh for fuck’s sake!” Armin barked, yanking his arms from Eren and Mikasa’s grip. Everyone in the classroom turned their heads, startled by the blonde’s loud cursing which rarely ever happened for him. His cheeks and button nose were flushed red, eyebrows drawn together as he yelled at two of his closest friends.

“You are both unbelievable! You know better than to act like this!”

He walked over to his desk to grab his own lunchbox, shaking his head in disappointment. “Mikasa, I will eat with Eren today so I can give him a piece of my mind about his _meltdown_ yesterday.”

The girl only nodded in shame, while Eren bit out a hesitant “Hey!”. They parted in two groups and went their separate ways.

“You know, Mikasa could have Armin arrested for yelling at her,” Connie muttered to Jean who only nodded.

* * *

“Gotta admit, Ackerman, it’s still weirds me out that you two are married. I don’t know when we’ll get used to it,” said Annie as they sat in the school’s outdoor lunch tables. Sasha opened their lunchboxes and scooped some of the mashed potatoes from Mikasa’s lunchbox. “Guess things haven’t been going well, huh?”

“You have no idea. It’s just getting more difficult to be around him,” she recounted to the other girls everything that happened to them since the wedding, including Eren Jaeger’s habits that ticked her off. “He makes a lot of noise when he eats, it’s so bothering! Plus, he puts up his feet on the couch. _Our_ common couch, where I also sit!”

“What noise? Like, ‘Hmm, this is so yummy!’ kind of noise?” Sasha inquired.

“No, the kind of noise that makes you want to pull out all his teeth. He chews loudly.”

“I put my feet on the couch,” Annie replied, but Mikasa waved a dismissive hand at her. “Yeah, but I don’t sit at _your_ couch.”

Sasha pointed her fork at the Crown Princess before stabbing it on the chicken. “Couches are made for sleeping, relaxing, or lying down, Mika. Give him a break.”

“ _Beds_ are made for sleeping or lying down. _Couches_ are made for sitting,” Mikasa narrowed her eyes at the two girls in front of her. “And are you on my side or not?”

Sasha pretended not to hear her as she moved on to Annie’s food, while the other just shrugged, tucking a tuft of her fringe behind her ear. “We only want both of you to live together amicably.”

The princess’ nose wrinkled at the unimaginable idea.

“I think you two just need to bone,” Annie casually said after a few minutes of silence. Sasha spiraled into a fit of giggles, spilling water on her skirt.

“Bone? What’s that?” Mikasa asked curiously, and Sasha howled into further hysterics.

“Oh, you know,” the blonde girl tilted her head while she sipped on her juice.

“No, I don’t, Annie.”

“Sex. You two need to have sex.”

Mikasa slipped into a coughing fit as a lump of chicken clogged her throat. She gasped for air, wheezing in between coughs, and both girls quickly handed her water and rubbed her back. Annie checked worriedly over Mikasa’s red face (for whatever reason, Annie was not really sure), Sasha still composing herself from laughing too much.

“What the f— fork, Annie?” Mikasa looked up to her female blonde friend incredulously when she recovered.

“I think Annie’s right,” Sasha returned to her seat and cleared her throat. “You two need to establish some physical intimacy. Have you two kissed? With the tongue, _please._ ”

“Wh-! No!”

“Well, maybe you should try it, so you could get to know each other better. It’s pretty effective, I once did it with Mylius—”

“Mylius from 4-03?” Annie turned to Sasha, looking impressed. The other brunette nodded passionately. “Great kisser, very handsy, but too quiet. Not my type.”

“I-I think there are other ways of knowing someone other than— than physical intimacy!” Mikasa roared, and the younger students nearby shot her weird glances. She took a deep breath and straightened herself. She’s been getting too much unnecessary attention today.

“Oh come on, Mik, Eren isn’t so bad. And you two are married! Like, legally allowed to kiss and do stuff with each other!” Sasha exclaimed, and Mikasa made a disgusted face.

“Yeah, already married but still haven’t kissed someone. _With the tongue_ , mind you,” Annie smirked.

“Oooh, exciting, first kiss with her husband like the purest maiden there is! First kiss with Eren, first s—“

Mikasa put her hand up. “This conversation is over.”

* * *

The ride home was dead quiet save for the low rumble of the car and Marco’s occasional humming as he drove. Going to school felt more exhausting than usual recently, and the blur from the passing buildings lulled Mikasa’s mind to relaxation. The summer heat was bidding goodbye as autumn announced its arrival with its cool winds, and she regrets not eating lunch outside more frequently when the weather was still nice.

And for the nth time that afternoon, her thoughts drifted to the conversation earlier with her friends.

She cursed Annie and Sasha as their poisonous words latched on to her. The whole afternoon, she was lost in her daydreams, imagining how it would feel like to experience what normal teenagers her age do.

She thought about Sasha’s escapades with a few good-looking boys in their year, and a tinge of jealousy hit her— Mikasa is a woman, after all, with fully-developed physical attributes and raging hormones that make themselves known to her once in a while. She has her needs too (at which she cringed at the impure thoughts), but she can’t just kiss anyone randomly and pull out a non-disclosure agreement for their signature.

Eren Jaeger shuffled beside her, making himself comfortable as he leaned on the backseat. He closed his eyes, some loud rock music blasting on his earphones.

 _Eren isn’t so bad_ , Sasha’s voice echoed in her mind. Her friend was right— here is a boy who is legally bound to her without any need for NDAs or some sort of coercion. If only she could bring herself to explore _things_ with him.

_Does he even have any experience in that field?_

Mikasa noticed from her periphery that he was napping; this was probably the only time she could assess her husband objectively without his knowledge and without looking like a pervert.

So she hesitantly turned her head to take a good look at him.

It struck her how his tanned skin seem alluring under the sunset glow. _I never had a suitor with a skin color like his,_ and she concluded at once that it looked better than her pale skin.

Her eyes then travelled to his defined jawline that tapered to his slightly pointed chin. And just below it, his clavicle peeked from the collar of his school uniform.

His prominent Adam’s apple suddenly bobbed, and Mikasa swallowed in reflex. _Nope,_ she shook off the revolting thoughts rushing in her head, particularly those that involve anything below his neck.

_Must look at his face now._

Nicely-shaped lips. Acceptable nose. Lashes that naturally curl in the edges. _Oh, thick eyebrows_. Mikasa always had a thing for boys with thick eyebrows (but not as thick as Principal Smith’s, please), and Eren Jaeger could have earned a star in her checklist— shame that it was always drawn together in annoyance whenever he spared her a look.

Taking together all his facial features, Mikasa begged to disagree with Sasha. Eren Jaeger isn’t just _‘not bad’_. Eren Jaeger isn’t just ‘ _OK_ ’.

Eren Jaeger is handsome.

Especially now when he looked almost peaceful in his sleep, and the absence of his perpetual scowl made him look more boyish and appealing. For one crazy moment, she imagined running her fingers through his shaggy dark brown hair that fell to his neck.

And perhaps, probably, maybe, she could see herself kissing him.

“What are you looking at?” Eren Jaeger asked gruffly.

Mikasa’s wandering mind plummeted back on Earth, registering the fact that the object of her thoughts was now wide awake and staring back at her.

She wanted to evaporate on the spot. The embarrassment was quickly swallowing her whole for being caught off guard like that, and he knew. She was checking him out, and _he freaking knew_.

It was so difficult to keep her face impassive when she knew her face was on fire, so she just averted her gaze to the car window.

“Your hair, it’s greasy. Wash it as soon as we get in the apartment.”

_Greasy? By gods, Mikasa, that was so lame._

He squinted his eyes at her and hissed, before turning away from her.

_Yeah, not gonna happen._

What was she thinking, anyway.

* * *

The car rounded the Palace courtyard and stopped in front of the massive entryway, the guards swiftly in position to open the car doors for the Crown Princess and her husband.

“Welcome back, Your Highnesses,“ Rico bowed to them as they entered the Palace. “The King would like to see the Crown Prince in his office now.”

Mikasa stopped in her tracks. The young couple exchanged surprised looks, and something akin to helplessness passed in Eren Jaeger’s pale face. Both were in silent agreement that the meeting might have something to do with what happened yesterday.

The Crown Princess then turned to Rico. “Why?”

“I am not certain, Your Highness. Prince Eren, if you will follow me.”

“I’m going with him.”

Rico knew better than to argue with the equally terrifying Ackerman, so she simply nodded as the two followed her. Meanwhile, Mikasa was scouring her brain of ways to bail Eren Jaeger out of trouble. He was intolerable, but it did not sit well with her that he will be punished for being unable to adjust quickly to Palace life.

“I thought I only asked for Eren,” commented the King when they entered the office. Levi and Queen Kuniko were also there, and Mikasa had flashbacks of that time when they told her the arranged marriage will take effect.

Except the tension was so palpable this time— cautious looks passing between her family members, restless gestures from her mother, Levi looking haggard. A nameless dread crawled into Mikasa, her senses yet again screaming at her to run and hide, and she suspected that this has nothing to do with Eren Jaeger.

“The princess insisted, Your Majesty,” Rico responded.

Mikasa opened her mouth to begin the speech she outlined in her head while they walked. “Dad, about yesterday, Eren was just—“

“No, Mikasa, this is not about yesterday,” King Liudolf stood up from behind the desk and waved a hand for Eren to take a seat. “I just need to talk to Eren. You can go now.”

The ashen-faced young prince complied obediently, but Mikasa stood her ground.

“No. I will stay, I want to know what you will say to Eren.”

“Mikasa, please. Just go. This only concerns Eren and his duties,” Levi spoke, and Mikasa noticed that his voice seemed off. He sounded almost… desperate.

“Then why are you all here? I am still a part of this family, I should be here.” _And the way you are excluding me makes me think it has everything to do with me,_ she wanted to add.

“Brat—“

“It’s alright, Levi,” the King sighed. “You know she’s stubborn like you.”

Mikasa swiftly sat beside Eren Jaeger who was fidgeting badly, unable to mask his nervousness. She almost wanted to comfort him, but quickly decided against it.

“There will be an event tomorrow, and we’d like Eren to go on behalf of the family. Your mom and I already have somewhere to be,” King Liudolf stated as a matter-of-factly. “It’s an opening ceremony of a new clinic built by the Health Department, led by Health Minister Reiss. A few other ministers will be there, too.”

Across Mikasa, her mother smiled gently and nodded at Eren Jaeger. “This will be a good introduction for you to the public.”

“You can do it, right, Eren?” Levi asked rhetorically.

Eren Jaeger looked at everyone in confusion, as though it only dawned on him why he was there in the first place. “I, uh—“

“Why?” Mikasa blurted out. She’s been asking so much _why’s_ lately, but things were unfolding before her without making much sense.

“What do you mean?”

“Why just him? I can go. It’s his first time, it’s too early for him to be making public appearances alone.”

“As your mother said, this is a good opportunity—“

“This is not in line with our protocols. You know that, Dad.”

Her father sent Mikasa a sharp glare for cutting him off, but the Queen quickly interrupted before things escalate any further. “Just tell her the truth, Dear.”

 _Truth..?_ Mikasa stared in trepidation at her family as she fought the unfounded fear and panic rising within her.

Her father let out a sharp breath and flicked a hesitant gaze to his daughter.

“The clinic is in the Underground.”

_The… Underground?_

The room immediately fell silent. No one dared to move, to make the smallest of noises. Just pure, deafening silence.

The Underground— Sina’s dark underbelly, notorious for the lawlessness within its depths. For the past decades, the Underground has gone through various transformations due to the efforts of the Government, particularly affordable housing and stringent police enforcement.

Yet for some reason, the place just attracted so much nefarious activities that despite superficial reforms, it remained rotten to its core, still serving as home for the most ruthless criminals in Paradis.

And more than that, King Liudolf’s words triggered something unwelcome and dangerous in Mikasa’s mind. She trembled inside as memories buried in the recesses of her mind were flashing one by one in rapid succession.

A throbbing pain hit her head, but she was lucid enough to suppress any sort of discomfort.

“The event will be in afternoon, Eren,” the King cut the tension that stretched for a while. “Rico will give you details—”

“I can do it,” Mikasa said firmly, shoving down the anxiety beginning to take over her.

Queen Kuniko peered at her daughter, concerned. “Mikasa, don’t be so difficult. Eren can go by himself.”

“I can do it,” Mikasa repeated, lifting her head to face everyone’s distressed looks, and she ignored the deathly glares Levi was giving her. “People will find it suspicious to see him attend an important event alone, and he’s not used to these things yet.”

She shifted her hardened gaze to her father, who was staring at her with a pained expression on his face. “I’ll be okay. I’m not a child anymore.”

“Alright, then.”

“Dad, she shouldn’t—“ Levi interjected, but the King held up a hand.

“Both of you will go, and Levi will accompany you. I trust that you are old enough to make your own decisions, Mikasa.”

* * *

“What was that back there?” Eren jogged beside her as Mikasa walked briskly to their apartment. She didn’t answer back, and truthfully, the anxiety was clawing up her throat. Her mind was only filled with thoughts of that place, and she just wanted to be alone.

Eren Jaeger’s brusque voice became more muffled as a loud ringing resonated in her ear.

She doesn’t know how much longer she can pull herself together.

As soon as she arrived in her bedroom, she slammed the door in Eren Jaeger’s face— just in time before she blacked out from the headache.

* * *

The young couple found themselves once again seated in the car as their convoy made its way to the Underground. Eren Jaeger had been eyeing Mikasa suspiciously the whole time— she did not leave her room until twenty hours later when they had to prepare for the event.

“So, you hate that place so much, huh?” he broke the silence with a sneer. “Is it the pungent smell that just lingers there permanently, or is it the grimy houses that are unlike the suburb dreams aboveground?”

Mikasa just stared quietly at the window, unable to summon the energy to fight him. She was sleepless, she was tired, she was nauseous.

But Eren Jaeger felt like being an asshole today.

“You didn’t have to go with me, you know. I didn’t want you to miss your velvet armchair and fragrant room.”

_This guy is really something._

She could have punched him if she wanted to, but all Mikasa could find inside her was just emptiness.

No, that wasn’t right. She’s actually been feeling numb and fearful and cold— just the way she felt that rainy night many years ago. It was foolish of her to think that she could do it. Maybe her parents were right, she isn’t ready yet. She cannot even bring to tell to anyone else what happened without breaking down.

Maybe she _is_ still a child, after all. A child afraid of nightmares and of monsters hiding under the bed.

And before she knew it, she was now facing the stairway that led to Sina’s literal hell.

The staircase was clean and well-lit, just like that rainy night many years ago. And she couldn’t breathe, just like that rainy night many years ago.

Eren began to climb down the stairs, a few bodyguards following him, probably expecting her to follow. _Everyone_ behind her expected her to follow.

But she couldn’t. She could not move her body. _Levi should be here with me. Why did he have to be there earlier than us?_ The pounding in her skull was back, and her feet was frozen in the ground. Pain lashed across her cheeks as that massive man punched her in the face and tied her up and—

“Are you not coming?” Eren called in agitation from eight flights of stairs.

She willed her body to move. One step at a time, then.

 _One. Two._ Every she step she took was getting heavier than the last. _Six. Seven._ Her breath was coming out in short puffs, and she was starting to feel lightheaded. _Twelve. Thirteen_ —

“Oi, are you OK?”

Mikasa raised her gaze from the floor to Eren Jaeger who was looking apprehensively at her. His forehead was puckered in a frown ( _did he look concerned?_ ), but for once, she found relief in his wide emerald eyes that gleamed under the yellow light.

“You look white as sheet and you’re shaking,” he continued when Mikasa just stared at him. He grabbed her hand and tugged her lightly. “Come on. The media’s there,” he murmured, as if to explain his unexpected act. “And you look like you’re about to fall.”

She just nodded at him, feeling a rush of gratitude that there was something solid she could hold on to. And he was right, she might have lost consciousness a moment ago were it not for him. Mikasa clutched on to Eren Jaeger tightly as he towed her to the Underground, weaving through the crowd and the media already gathered outside the new two-story clinic, waiting for their arrival.

They sat in their designated chairs in front of the makeshift platform where the short ceremony will be held. Eren Jaeger’s presence was oddly comforting to Mikasa at that moment, and she was able to temporarily fight back the undesirable visions in her head. Maybe she could survive this day, after all.

“Mikasa Franziska Ackerman.”

The Crown Princess whirled her head towards the source of the familiar voice that she hadn’t heard in years. And there, standing just behind her, was the goddess in all her glory.

“Historia!” Mikasa quickly rose from her seat to embrace the blonde-haired girl who nearly tackled her. “When did you arrive?”

“Just the other day. It’s been so long! How are you, Mikasa?” Historia squealed, her round, blue eyes lighting up, and Mikasa couldn’t help but beam at her old friend’s ever sunny disposition that only rivaled Sasha’s. The Ackerman princess only had fond memories of them romping in the Palace grounds when they little girls. Historia always visited Mikasa and played with her, until her older sister Frieda died and she became the heiress of the Reiss Estate.

Mikasa squeezed the petite girl’s dainty hands. “Nothing new. But you! I heard you started your degree in Social Work in Marley. You are so lucky.”

“It’s nothing, Dad called some people there. But yeah, it’s been great,” she waved a hand and jerked her thumb to the back. “Gosh, I saw Levi earlier, still stoic as ever. The Commander role suits him, though— oh, is this your husband? I am so sorry I missed your wedding!“

Mikasa slightly flinched in surprise. “Oh. Uh, this is Eren Jaeger. Yeah, he’s my, uhm, husband.”

“Lady Reiss,” Eren Jaeger bowed courteously beside Mikasa in acknowledgment. Historia gave him a once-over and raised a thin brow. Then she then stuck out her right hand to him.

Eren Jaeger looked at Mikasa in bewilderment, as though unsure himself whether it was even proper for him to kiss someone else’s hand in greeting. Historia just laughed and placed both her hands on her hips. “Wow, Mikasa, you got this boy whipped!”

The raven-haired princess just smiled at her friend’s antics, despite not fully understanding what whipped meant.

* * *

The event went as well as Mikasa could hope for, given the pathetic state she was in. She had difficulty concentrating the whole time, and there had been a few moments during the ceremony when she spaced out, but Eren Jaeger consistently nudged her to focus. He even kept reminding her of their next steps, though in exasperated whispers. He led her during the ribbon cutting, the signing, the handshakes, blah, blah, blah. She wasn’t very much in control of her mental faculties, only mechanically copying what he did.

 _Just the closing photographs_ , she breathed a sigh. After that, she can finally get out of this place. Both her and Eren Jaeger stood side by side in front, and she felt his hand awkwardly rest on the small of her back while the media took photos of their first event together as a married couple. She forced out a smile, hoping it would not come out as a grimace.

“Prince Eren, how is life in the Palace?” A man, likely a reporter, shouted from behind the cameras.The lack of a scheduled press conference didn’t stop some reporters from getting a sound bite. Eren Jaeger tensed up beside Mikasa.

“Prince Eren, how is Palace life different from the life as a commoner?” Another one fearlessly asked, and he was getting clearly uncomfortable by the second.

“Prince Eren, didn’t you frequently visit the Underground with your father?” _Where the heck are these questions coming from?_

Mikasa immediately jumped in before more reporters bombard him with personal questions. “My husband is doing well, thank you. We hope you respect his privacy since he is still adjusting to—“

_CRACK._

Something solid hit her cheek.

The crowd gasped.

Mikasa automatically lifted a hand and touched something slippery running down her jaw and neck. Strangers gaped at her in shock, their faces getting blurry by the second from where she was standing, and her gaze slowly dropped to her fingers. _Eggs?_

Another one hit her squarely in the chest.

Then everything happened so fast— a dozen more eggs were hurled at her simultaneously from different directions, cameras were clicking at warp speed to capture the chaos and the egg-smeared face of the Crown Princess, the Royal Guards swarming the whole area to stop… whatever was happening. It was one bomb away from total pandemonium.

Mikasa’s mind went blank again. Her vision became unfocused, and she spiraled once more to emptiness as the unexpected sight in front rendered her paralyzed.

But the shouts and screams became muted, when she realized that her ear was pressed in someone’s chest and a hand covering her other ear. Warmth enveloped her stock-still body, and only the heat came into contact with her skin—

—because at the last second, Eren Jaeger caged her in his arms and shielded her, his back receiving the eggs thrown at them.

_What..?_

“Mikasa, Eren! Here!”

She recognized Historia’s frantic voice calling them from behind the stage where the clinic’s doors were open. A third person herded them quickly, which she soon realized was Levi, until they were inside the building, safe from the chaos outside.

Eren Jaeger forced her to take a seat, then took off his black coat soaked with eggs.

“Fucking shit!” Levi bellowed, his face marred only with fury. “Jaeger, stay with Mikasa. Do _not_ open this door until Marco comes to get you.”

Across the room, Historia was rummaging through a cabinet and handed Eren Jaeger a piece of cloth and bottles of water. “I’m sorry, Mikasa,” she whispered, restraining her sniffles. She soon followed Levi out and closed the door behind her.

Mikasa stared vacantly at the ceiling, sitting motionless on her chair. Maybe her brain was just slow on the uptake, but she _still_ could not feel anything but emptiness, even after the chaos that just happened. She searched her mind for anything, _anything_ to make her feel something. But she just felt… dead inside.

Eren Jaeger came within her view. He kneeled in front of her, slowly removing the eggshells sticking in her shoulders and dress. She stared curiously at him, her eyes following his hands as he poured water on the cloth.

He leaned closer to her and rubbed her face clean. He was just a feet away from her, and Mikasa blinked in surprise. Her eyes grew wider as she devoured every inch of his face— his mouth set in a hard line, his eyebrows knitted together as he concentrated in his task.

And Mikasa wondered if her brain was now playing tricks on her, because she swore that Eren Jaeger— obnoxious, hotheaded Eren Jaeger who hated her to the moon and back— was gently touching her cheek.

“Do you want anything?” he abruptly asked, still on his knees and wiping the side of her neck that was sticky with dried egg yolk.

_Do I want… anything?_

Mikasa was taken aback by his earnest manner and the way his intense eyes bore into hers— his emerald eyes that were still so bright even in the dimly-lit room, eyes that could easily convey a thousand emotions.

All at once, the heavy weight of the burden she was carrying for the past twenty-four hours came crashing down on her. A searing pain ripped through her chest and Eren Jaeger’s face became obscured as her eyes swam with tears. She wanted to fight it, to fight the bad memories and the pain and misery that came along with it, because she will be the Queen, _for Sina’s sake_ , and she cannot be seen as weak.

 _I am not weak_ , she thought pitifully as sobs wracked her whole body.

Her tears were just flowing non-stop, and she felt his steady hand pull her head into his shoulder, and _oh gods why is he doing this,_ she thought out of the blue.

He awkwardly patted her on the head.

“Want… h-home,” she murmured in between hiccups, hoping she actually sounded coherent.

Eren Jaeger hummed in understanding, then he stroked her hair in a way that soothed Mikasa’s tired and weary soul.

“OK. We’ll go home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK wow this was a long chapter! Sorry for taking so long to upload. I was planning to upload two chapters every month but I guess I can't do that anymore because -life- and I take too much time writing. Sorry you guys!
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Was it too long? Was it too talky? I was struggling with the dialogues but the scenes just called for conversations and I couldn't think of ways to effectively convey the characters' thoughts without them talking. Haha. Let me know your thoughts because I see them on my email even when I am swamped with work!! If you're shy, I'm also on tumblr haha @polaris-thehunter we can connect there!!! :3
> 
> Thank you very much and let's enjoy the last two chapters leak-free! 
> 
> \- nini


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